Amorra Week: Winter Edition 2012-2013
by Raven Hallowryn
Summary: I will posting all my Amorra Week projects as one-shots here. Most are rated M. Enjoy.
1. Day 1: Quirk

Day 1: Quirk

She had long since noticed that little quirk of his, it was discreet and most people didn't see it but he did it very often and even now, after four years in his company, she still wondered what it was all about.

"Why do you do that?" Korra blurted out the question from her comfortable spot at his side, with her head on his deeply scarred chest. She was talking without thinking and there it was again- that little quirk, that little oddity.

"Do what, Korra?" He looked at her with pale icy blue eyes burning with a heat that was only reserved for her.

"That little head thing, that quirk you do all the time." She explained , propping her arm under her chin as she looked up at him with no judgment whatsoever, which was what he expected from everyone, hence why he loved her so much, hence why she dazzled him with her innocence even now.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean." He trailed his fingers in her hair and watched her, feeling the unique sensation of peace that only she seemed to grant his troubled spirit.

"You're doing it right now, Noatak!" Korra pouted playfully and poked his nose, mimicking his little idiosyncrasy. "You tilt your head down and to the left whenever someone talks to you."

"Oh…" Noatak's brows rose up in sudden surprise. "This?" He cocked his head slightly, obscuring the majority of the left side of his face, the heavily damaged side, and exposing the handsome right profile of his visage.

"Yeah, that!" Korra pointed at him and smiled. "What's that quirk all about?"

"I figured you of all people would have figured it out by now, Korra." Noatak smiled rather sorrowfully, even after all this time it still hurt to think about…well, about the origin of that oddity.

"Huh?" The Avatar looked innocently lost, almost like a child even though the fact that she was naked and flushed in his arms in the bed that had been sharing for a couple of years now proved just how very adult she had become since the Equalist War.

"You really don't know?" Noatak trailed his marred fingers down her back, inciting a slight shiver.

"Tell me." Korra insisted, now very acutely curious.

"I tilt my head to the left in order to properly hear what is being said." Noatak replied still holding that sorrowful smile.

"I don't get it."

"My left ear is completely deaf, Korra." He explained patiently, neglecting to point out that he had also learned to read lips thanks to that disability. "I developed the unconscious quirk of tilting my head in order to perceive what people are saying with my right ear."

"Deaf?" Korra was staring at him with shock widening her beautiful cerulean eyes. "Because of the…" She trailed off, already she regretted having brought up the subject.

"Because of the boat explosion, yes." Noatak nodded softly and pulled her tighter into his arms, trying to reassure her that she had done nothing wrong.

It still hurt to remember the accident that had been no accident; it was still agony to remember that the repenting Tarrlok had died but that monstrous Amon had lived because of his cursed bending and the mercy of the loving but naïve Avatar. It was torture to think of that day four years before when his brother had tried to bring an end to their sad story but he knew he had to come to terms with his own survival and he despised that Korra could feel guilty for bringing it up, after all she had the right to know everything she wanted, she had saved his life and his soul that day… Sure, she hadn't been the one to pull him out of the water as a destroyed wreck of a man but she had been his healer when she had been called to be his executioner; and then she had cleared the warped hatred he carried in his soul when she had patiently tended to him and spoken peacefully of her own thoughts and ideals for all those weeks but most of all she had given him a new start and a new purpose in life when she had given in to his selfish obsession and granted him her love.

"I…I never noticed." Korra whispered, swallowing dryly as empathetic pain filled her.

"That was the point, my love." Noatak kissed her cheek soothingly. "It's actually a relief to know that it is not all that obvious."

"Is there anything else?" Korra looked at him again, there wasn't any pity in her eyes but there was plenty of worry and care. "I mean…If it's not too painful to talk about."

"Do you really want to know?" Noatak was tilting his head again quite unconsciously. "I don't mind telling you, Korra, but please wipe that worried frown from your face. I much prefer your smile."

"Tell me and I'll try." Korra huffed stubbornly.

"Alright." He chuckled briefly and considered her question. "As you know most of my back and upper left side of my body is heavily scarred from the burns and as my healer you also know about my missing fingers and the scarred lung but I guess that if you never noticed the deaf left ear then you probably never noticed the mostly blind left eye either or the temperature control issue."

"Spirits…" Korra looked absolutely livid. "How could I miss that?"

"You missed it because those are unfixable and I did my best to overcome them and keep them from you."

"Why?!" She was still too stunned to react with anything but shock.

"Because I didn't want you to worry like you are right now. Because I knew you would feel responsible for not being able to do more and because I did not wish for any pity." Noatak traced her cheek with his damaged hand, all three remaining fingers trailing delicately across her smooth skin. "And because I love you too much to burden you anymore, Korra."

"Noatak… I will always worry but I would never pity you. Not you, of all people." Korra leaned into his tender touch.

"I know that now." Noatak smiled, she had long since discovered that his mask had been a necessary tool since he was the sort of man that had a really hard time keeping his emotions off his face.

"I just wish I could have fixed you up."

" Oh Korra, you did… More than you will ever imagine. You saved more than my life, you fixed my soul and my heart." He held her by the waist and hoisted her up until she was over him, allowing them to be as close as possible with their bodies tangled together as one.

"Anything else?" Korra looked at him hesitantly but comfortable.

"Not really, my love." Noatak played with a lock of her hair between his fingers. "And if it makes you feel better you have a couple of unique physical quirks yourself."

"Like what?" Her sorrow was quickly drowned by curiosity.

"Perhaps I'll point them out when I see them." He smirked and raised a brow suggestively.

"That was a perverted remark, wasn't it?" Korra gave him a flat face.

"Oh yes." Noatak laughed lightly. "But I meant what I said, you do have lovely little quirks."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better…" Korra pouted but her mood had lightened slightly and she nuzzled the right side of his neck, now self-consciously teaching herself only to whisper all her loving words to his right side.

"No, I'm being absolutely honest. If I wished to make you feel better I would do this." Noatak tilted her head by fisting his hand into her hair to urge her closer in order to kiss her feverishly and deeply, lips locking and melting together as tongues danced passionately while his free hand trailed down her spine again to cup her rear, bringing her even closer.

"That does make me feel a little better." Korra breathed the words into his lips as the long languid kiss broke and a smug smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Just a little?" He snickered, planting yet another kiss in her lips, trying to dispel the dark topic once and for all.

"Yeah…" Korra hesitated but something came to mind and the opportunity seemed too good to waste, she had learned from Noatak never to waste a good opening. "Wanna know what would really make me feel better?"

"Name it and it's yours, Korra. I would give you anything."

"I want a baby."

"Except that." Noatak corrected himself rapidly.

"Come on, Noatak! How many times must I beg for it? I want your baby and I want it now, while there's peace and there's no need for the Avatar to fight. It's the perfect time." Korra whined and scowled at the long argued subject, she had first brought it up two years earlier and he had been denying her ever since.

"That's not the point, Korra." Noatak combed stray tresses of her hair away from her face tenderly.

"Then what? Do you hate kids that much or do you just think I'd be that bad a mom?" Korra sulked further though almost comically, she wasn't really upset, she had long since resigned herself to his denial but she hated that he never explained himself, that mysterious streak was yet another of his little quirks.

"Neither of those, dear." Noatak traced her bottom lip with him thumb to dispel her pout.

"Then what?" She pouted further just to rebel against his touch.

"You should know that too." He gave her a penetrating look that provoked shivers all over Korra's skin.

"Well I don't." She stuck her tongue out defiantly. "So tell me."

"We are both waterbenders and offspring of waterbenders, Korra. What are the odds that any child of ours _won't_ inherit our skills?" Noatak sounded resentful.

"So what's the problem if our kid is a bender? Don't tell me you're still sticking to all that 'bending is evil' crap?" Korra's face fell into a deeper frown.

"No, that would be hypocrisy." Noatak shook his head calmly.

"Then what…?"

"Korra…" Noatak hesitated but then his resolve steeled. "What was the most intense pain you ever felt in your entire life?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer."

"You know what it was." Korra avoided the answer and looked away reluctantly.

"Answer." He tipped her chin to force her to look at him again as he tilted his head in that unique little quirk.

"Bloodbending." Korra's face steeled too, she was suddenly uncomfortable to be lying naked over his bare body which prompt her to sit up, straddling him dominantly.

"Exactly." Noatak nodded calmly. "You know what I carry in my blood, what Tarrlok tried to eliminate. I can't bear the thought I bringing yet another accursed bloodbender of Yakone's lineage into the world."

"Noatak, so long as you don't teach our kids that skill, they won't use it and even if they somehow learn it, the circumstances are different. You are not your father, you're better than that, you can teach them to follow the right path." Korra smiled, softening up optimistically now that she knew what had been eating him.

"What if I am like him? Believe it or not he was a good husband and a loving father at first, he only became a warped, hatred filled, abusing monster much later, Korra. What if I lose perspective again just like him?"

"That's what I'm here for, Noatak." Korra smirked, kissing him sweetly but deeply. "If you ever lose your way again this Avatar will kick your ass into the Spirit World and back."

"You make a very good point, my dear." Noatak kissed back fervently. "You have defeated me before."

"Does that mean you agree with me?" Korra gave him an expecting puppy-eyed look.

"Well…" Noatak had to admit that the prospect of having a family of his own was selfishly tempting but most of all it was the desire to make Korra happy that urged him to take her side and forced him to see her perspective. "It means I agree to try to agree with you." He replied cryptically.

"So…Can I have my wish?" Korra grinned full of self-confidence. "Can we have a kid?"

"If that's what fate has in store for us then yes, Korra." He finally gave in with plenty of reservations, yet he decided to hand his fears over to destiny.

"When?"

"No time like the present." He smiled again, pulling her down to him once more for a passionate heated kiss that stole away their breaths but poured their souls into each other.

"Sounds like fun." She murmured huskily biting her lower lip seductively but unconsciously, dragging her pearly white teeth over said plump lip.

"Ah…There's one of those little quirks of yours that I simply can't resist." He kissed her again, sucking her bitten lip tenderly and locking her in a passionate embrace as he rolled to pin her under him.

In the end he always gave in to her, she was his weakness and she knew it. She was the Yin to his Yang, she was mercy to his ruthlessness, she was the beauty to his disfigurement, the youth to his experience, she was the kindness to his cruelty, the innocence to his shrewdness, the empathy to his manipulation, she was the heated brashness to his cold scheming and yet they were one, they were two pieces of a whole no matter what differences tore them apart.

Quirks or no quirks, oddities or not, they belonged together.

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

_(Author's Note: I figured deafness was a credible disability for Noatak given the size of the explosion that happened right next to him. Also, the quirk I chose actually hits very close to home for me- my father happens to be completely deaf from his left ear and partially deaf from the right one. I lived alone with him for over a decade and saw how he struggled not to let that disability show or hamper his life, even though it still hinders his greatest love (music) and affects his social life to huge extents. Either way he was my inspiration for Noatak's attitude here.)_


	2. Day 2: Sexual Tension

Day 2: Sexual Tension

Those eyes were driving her crazy. The way the bore into the very core of her being was nerve wrecking enough but what really drove her nuts was how colorless they were, so perfectly concealed by the shadowing mask that they could very well be transparent and she wouldn't know the difference.

Korra desperately wanted to know what those eyes were hiding; she needed to see beneath the mask both physically and metaphorically. He was a puzzle that she was determined to solve.

"My, my…I figured you would have learned your lesson last time, Avatar." That dangerous baritone rumbled right through her whole being as he stood before her, perfectly composed with his hands behind his back.

"Don't worry, you won't get a chance to chi-block me this time, jerk." The Avatar snapped out, crossing her arms belligerently while trying not to hiss with pain. The fight with Tarrlok and subsequent escape in the snowy mountain had taken its toll on her, she was fine now that the majority of the wounds had been healed but everything seemed sore and her entire body hurt.

"I highly doubt you could stop me if I wanted to chi-block you given the state you are in, my dear." That expressionless mask seemed to almost smirk, mocking her.

"The fuck do you think you know about me, Amon?" Korra shot out the words angrily and very defensively.

"I know everything about you, Avatar." The masked man moved dangerously closer and Korra backed away in reply, she was trying not be scared but her body betrayed her, she didn't know why but she didn't want him close to her, for some reason she couldn't stand to have him less than ten feet away and it wasn't because of fear or loathing.

"The hell you do!" Korra hissed out, feeling the rough wooden bars of the Air Temple's meditation pavilion against her back; it had been the last place she had expected to find him after the equalists took the island but now she was starting to suspect that he had secluded himself in the gazebo on purpose just so she would show herself. He seemed to have turned Korra's ambush against her.

"Oh but I do, Korra." The way he practically purred her name did strange things to the Avatar, she knew she ought to be disgusted but instead a cold thrill fluttered inside her body and she wanted to hear him say her name over and over.

"Then you know why I'm here." Korra steeled herself and stood tall even as she pressed unconsciously to the ledge of the pavilion under the sharp colorless eyes of the masked man.

"I do. The question is…do you?" Amon moved even closer and Korra prepared to push him back if necessary, after all she was close enough to the water that the setting was to her advantage no matter how powerful he thought himself to be.

"What do you plan to do now that you have taken the island? And where have you taken Tarrlok?"

"Why should I tell you, Avatar?" Amon seemed almost amused by her questioning.

"Whether you tell me or not, I'm taking you down, Amon! I won't let you terrorize this city anymore!" Korra snapped out aggressively.

"Terrorize? I am ridding this city of true terror and tyranny, Avatar."

"Bullshit!" Korra slammed her fists into one of the wooden pillars of the gazebo and her wrath made the whole structure shake. "You're the tyrant and I'm here to stop you once and for all!"

Amon unclasped his hands and before she could even take a bending stance he had her body pinned to a pillar, holding her wrists over her head in one large strong hand with that cold polished mask just inches from her face. His free hand reached up to hold her jaw the very same way he had done back during their first confrontation at Avatar Aang Memorial.

"No. That's not why you're here, lovely Korra." He murmured through that mask as she stared at him in wide eyed shock before she caught herself and glared aggressively.

"Why do you think I'm here then?" Korra snapped, trying to shake her face free of his hold while attempting to conceal the terror she felt as well as that other bubbling emotion that she couldn't quite define.

"For the same reason I let you catch me alone." Amon's sharp colorless gaze bore into the sapphire depths of her eyes.

The silence between the two nemeses was heavy with unsaid words, only the crash of waves against the cliff lightened the pressure that seemed to weigh on them, the air thrummed with such thick tension that Korra swore she could cut through it with a knife if need be. She was shaking against her will and those shadowed eyes never relinquished their hold on her as the blank mask mocked her.

Suddenly he let go of her jaw but before she could look away that large hand of his travelled higher in front of her face, for a single terrifying moment she feared he was going to press it to her forehead and rid her of everything that made her who she was but instead his skilled fingers veiled her eyes. Moments later the Avatar was overwhelmed when warm lips crashed urgently onto her mouth in a violent, biting, sucking, domineering kiss that stole her breath away. Her mouth was consumed by his, his musky beach tinted scent drowned her senses and his pinning body felt strangely exciting as well as petrifying.

For the longest time she had no idea how to react, her brain stupidly enquired how he had pulled the mask away if his hands were busy restraining her wrists and shielding her eyes but her treacherous body reacted by instinct, kissing him like she had never kissed anyone before and arching to mold herself to his powerful athletic frame. He tasted of the sea and of ice but he felt warm and unyielding just like everything else about him.

«What in the world am I doing?!» Korra berated herself after what seemed like forever. Suddenly she was struggling against his grip and fighting to break the forced kiss.

At last he let her go, backing away with graceful speed and slipping the mask back in place before she could catch even the slightest glimpse of his face. Korra remained pressed to the pillar, legs feeling like jelly but forcing herself to take a defensive stance, cracking her knuckles to test her waterbending on the sea below them, it was still there and the way the water rose in an unnatural crashing wave told her he had spared her one more time.

The Avatar was too shocked to properly think of a suitable course of action, she wanted to slap that stupid mask right off his face but at the same time that tension still hung between them, that terrifyingly powerful sensation of magnetic attraction.

"What are you doing to me?" Korra hissed out, trying to keep the despair off her voice. She couldn't understand her own feelings, she didn't know what was happening to her but it was disturbingly scary and so deliciously good at the same time.

"I could ask you the same thing." Amon stood in his usual stance once more, perfectly straight with his hands behind his back and exuding confidence.

"You kissed me!" Korra shouted angrily. "You hate me! Why would you kiss me?!"

"I don't hate you. I hate what you represent." Amon replied simply as if that solved everything. "And you kissed back. Quite enthusiastically if I might add."

"I…What…That…" Korra dug her fingers in her own hair, growling with frustration. "That wasn't my intention!"

"What does this mean to us, Avatar Korra?"

"You're actually asking me?!" Korra slashed the air so angrily that a wall of water rose from the ocean in reaction to her anger. Surely he was being sarcastic.

"Yes, I am." He didn't seem fazed in the least by the gigantic wall of clear ocean water that partially surrounded them. "What do you feel for me? What does this mean?" He motioned vaguely at the space between us indicating the heavy tension that thrummed and buzzed between them since the first day they met face to face.

"You mean nothing to me. That…That kiss was nothing but…but a reaction to sexual tension!" Korra snapped out angrily stomping her foot until the whole pavilion shook again.

"Liar." Amon glared at her heatedly, making the blank mask look threatening and cold. "You know it's not that simple anymore."

"NO! THIS MEANS NOTHING!" Korra screamed, unable to look him in the eye. "I HATE YOU, AMON!"

"…So be it." Amon lunged at her, aiming for the specific set of pressure points in her torso that would render her paralyzed.

Korra reacted in a fraction of a second, moving out of the way but her sore body was too slow to avoid a hit that numbed her left arm. The Avatar cursed, she realized she could not hold this fight and win so when he lunged towards her again, shepherding her towards the sea-side ledge she crashed the massive wall of water onto them until Amon was washed away under the sheer force of the tsunami and she swam away at full speed, propelled by her waterbending.

Korra never looked back as her salty tears became part of the sea around her; she never got to see how he rose effortlessly from the deadly waves and stood on the beach watching her go with sorrow in that hidden face. They both knew they would see each other soon, though when that time came they would be deadly enemies and no amount of sexual tension would save them the pain and the battle that would have to ensue for what this war represented was much bigger than either of them...

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

_(Author's Note: A half-assed attempt at day 2 has been done! I'm disappointed with myself but here it is. Moving on to day 3 now.)_


	3. Day 3: Tea

Day 3: Tea

"Are you coming, Korra?" Asami's voiced fluttered across the hallway of the arena's gym as her beautiful raven head poked into the locker-room.

"Huh? Where?" Korra blinked in confusion as she slipped on her top and began to clumsily tie her hair after the quick bath she had taken. She really had no shame in front of Asami and her friend knew that by now which was exactly why she barged into the locker-rooms after Pro-Bending practice every other day.

"The boys and I are heading down to the testing track after lunch. We are trying out the new line of high performance satomobiles." Asami smiled, expecting some excitement from Korra who always enjoyed the speed and thrill of the testing track.

"Ah…Sorry. I can't today." Korra gave her an apologetic smile. "Maybe next time."

"Oh?" Asami edged inside the locker-room and closed the door behind her. "Other plans?"

"Avatar stuff." Korra finished handling her hair and sat down to slip on her boots.

"Like what?" The raven-head asked curiously.

"Just a meditation thing. It's a big deal." Korra replied sketchily.

"Want a ride back to the temple?"

"Not going to the temple but thanks." Korra smiled. "I have my own meditation spot."

"You're not going all the way out to the eastern outskirts of town again, are you?" Asami seemed disapproving. "It's snowing after all."

"That seems to be the only place I can focus in, Asami." Korra shrugged on her winter coat. "Besides I'm used to the snow."

"But does it have to be so far away? Can't you focus at the temple?" Asami seemed more worried than curious.

"I can't meditate anywhere but on that cliff-side, 'Sami." Korra gave her friend another reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll be just fine."

"Will you at least come have lunch with us?"

"No time. I'll just have something at a little tea house close my meditation spot." Korra closed her little wooden locker and turned to leave. "Thanks for the invite though. You guys have fun."

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Korra." Asami stepped aside and opened the door so they could leave. "Good luck with the Avatar stuff."

"Thanks. See you later." Korra was already walking towards the exit while waving her friend goodbye.

Naga was waiting outside as usual and greeted Korra with an enthusiastic lick to the face to which the Avatar responded by scratching the furry animal's ears before hoisting herself onto the polar bear dog's saddle and rushing off.

The exact location that Korra headed to every week was a secret even to her closest friends, all everyone knew was that it was outside the city somewhere on the eastern outskirts. It took her almost an hour on the trotting Naga to actually get there and when she did the snow was already piled over the rocky beach and it was far past lunch time.

Korra loved that place. It was peaceful and intimately linked to nature but it was also the perfect blend between the cold seclusion she was used to in the South Pole and the reassuring city-landscape and beach comfort that loved in the United Republic. The beach itself was tiny and sandless, coated with millions of multicolored pebbles and sea-polished rocks, a jagged cliff with many small concave openings shielded the cove from humanity, the water swirled among reefs in enchanting hues of blue, sapphire, cerulean, aquamarine, teal and turquoise like some otherworldly pallet of spiritual art that reflected the weak sun like sparkling diamonds all over its surface.

That small magical cove really was the only place that Korra could truly relax and let go of her worries, it was the one spot she could actually meditate naturally be it in Avatar state or normally, not mention that it felt safe and deeply mystic. But the truth was that she didn't really go there to meditate, it had indeed started that way but in past couple of years things had changed considerably.

The first thing the Avatar did after dismounting and tossing Naga a treat for her hard work was to grab her satchel and march down the slippery snowy pebbles towards the small far end of the beach. Once there she spotted the little smooth point on the cliff were a mark had been inscribed and a name had been carved, there were also pieces of some sort of wreckage piled in that sheltered little corner and under the haphazard construction that they made lay an almost frozen cup of tea and fresh seaweed buns.

Korra sighed with a sorrowful smile and sat cross-legged, drawing several sticks of incense from her satchel and lighting them with firebending before propping them between the pebbles next to the icy tea; after a small prayer she produced a small bottle of saké from her bag and opened it quietly.

"I brought some good stuff this time." The Avatar murmured softly to no one. "Not that you really deserve it, you pompous little jerk, but I can be generous every once in a while." Korra proceeded to pour the contents of the bottle directly on the ground, splattering the clear liquid all over the carved name on the wall. She then stood up before the smell of liquor could make her dizzy and stashed the empty bottle back in her bag. "I'm going now but it will be the solstice next week. I'll bring you back some dumplings, Tarrlok."

With that she cast a last mournful look at the shabby improvised grave and turned her back, marching quietly back to the other end of the cove as she blinked away the sting in her eyes. It would not do to cry, it had been five years already, it was pathetic to get emotional over such a simple visit but, then again, maybe the more time passed the more the sorrow settled in as the memory of the councilman's darker actions became washed out by time.

Once she was back at Naga's side Korra cast a long silent glance the horizon while snacking on the buns and tofu rolls that Pema had made. She shared her snack with Naga, even though the polar bear dog could easily hunt down something better to eat if it really wanted to; as she ate the Avatar indulged in simply watching the airships in the distance as they hovered over the city to her right. After a while the sun descended ever so slightly in the sky, obscured by foggy grey clouds that spewed the icy snowflakes that floated lazily around her, and Korra decided that she had lingered long enough.

It was time to get on with what she really had come here to do; not meditation though, it was time for the weekly little ritual that never failed to make her happy even if it was her dirty little secret. It was time for _tea_.

"Let's go, girl." Korra dusted her hands and patted Naga's side. Together they paced out of the cove and into the dirt trail that led to the smallest most rural settlement at the very edge of city territory.

Several small farms littered the mountainous landscape, their owners all hiding from the bitter cold, possibly by a cozy fire in their little homes; but all she cared about was the small, shabby little teahouse that stood inconspicuously by the cliff, looking out towards the endless watery horizon and surrounded by snowy shrubbery and old naked tress.

Naga settled comfortably in the snow outside, the bone-chilling cold was nothing to the beast compared to her native South Pole so the polar bear dog was ready to doze off and snooze while Korra enjoyed her afternoon. The Avatar pushed open the door, hearing the familiar tinkle of the bell that hung over it, she noticed that there was only an aging couple sitting in a corner and sipping on warm tea while conversing quietly over the soft static-y music that hummed from an old radio.

Korra took her usual seat in the furthest corner by a window, just next to the counter and she waited quietly, letting her thoughts wander as she watched the snow fall outside the window.

"Here again?" A deep polite baritone reached her ears and the corners of her lips twitched into a slight smile.

"Must you ask me that every week?" Korra chuckled quietly and turned to look at the man before her.

"Must you keep coming here every week?" He answered her question with another but his pale blue eyes were soft with a unique sense of gratitude and affection.

"It's my happy place." The Avatar replied simply with a smug grin.

"I find that hard to believe." He shook his head with amused disbelief and Korra noted that his coffee colored hair was longer, it was tied at the back of his head but she assumed it must reach below his shoulders now. "Kelp tea as usual?"

"Nah, surprise me this time." Korra leaned back on her chair as the man slipped away behind the counter. She watched the elderly couple leave with content waves at the man she had just spoken to and she set her feet over the rickety old table now that the small teahouse was empty.

"That is very rude, Korra." The man returned several minutes later, using a heavily scarred hand to shoo her feet off the table before he placed a plate of red dumplings and a kettle of boiled water over the washed out wooden tabletop, followed by a pair of cups and bowl filled with a unique mix of powdered herbs and spices. His voice penetrated her body like a flame in the cold weather, she loved the way he said her name in that rusty deep voice of his and she liked that as soon as she stepped into the little teahouse she was no longer the Avatar, she was just Korra- there were no titles in there.

"I don't see anyone here to complain." She chuckled softly.

"It's still rude." He insisted although there was no real admonishment in his voice.

"Well, I'm tired from practice. My little feet deserve a break." She stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Yes, I hear the Fireferrets are in finals this year again." He commented casually and stirred the mixture of herbs and spices with just enough hot water to make it foam.

"Damn straight." Korra grinned with immense pride. "We'll win this year, you can bet on it."

"I don't bet, Korra. It is a foolish hobby."

"Right." She decided not point out that he really had nobody to bet against since he had no real friends. "Are you joining me this time?" She eyed the two separate cups to change the subject as he poured the mixture into the kettle and allowed it to brew.

"Would you prefer I didn't?" He smirked slightly and it made his deeply marred face look handsome again beneath all the scarred tan skin.

"No, I'd love it if you had some tea with me." Korra's smug smile opposed her polite words but her answer seemed to please him and as the tea brewed he locked the little establishment's door and closed the fogged glass and wood shutters over the windows.

"Do you enjoy having tea with me so much?" He asked as he took a seat in front of her, at last pouring the fragrant red hued tea onto the cups. She took the chance to examine him then- even with most of his skin scarred and molten, even in dark humble plainly cut clothes, he looked imposing and impressive.

"We both know I don't come here for the tea, Noatak." Korra accepted her cup and smelled the steaming drink, enjoying the unusual scent that mingled ginger, wild flowers, cinnamon, sea prune and some sweet spice that she couldn't identify.

He didn't reply but as soon as she said his name Noatak seemed to visibly relax, apparently he enjoyed the way she spoke his name as well and just like she wasn't the Avatar in that teahouse, the same premise applied to him- in that little establishment so far away from the ruckus of the city he was no longer Amon, he was no more than Noatak, a quiet damaged man.

Of course they were both fully aware of who each other was but in there they had no past, that tea scented room was their own little wonderland were all the complicated philosophical issues between the two could never permeate. That small haven that he had taken over after the old couple that had been his rescuers had passed away was a world where they were just two waterbenders that pretended not to remember all the horrors of the past.

He took a sip from his own cup and looked out the only window that he hadn't shuttered, the one that overlooked the ocean and let in the weak afternoon light. Luckily, the silence between them was comfortable and peaceful.

"How long as it been?" He broke their silent contemplations with the soft question.

"Five years in a few weeks, I guess." Korra peered out the window too, repressing a heavy sigh. "It's been long enough that people have forgotten details of the war and the stories have become embellished and dolled up."

"Yes, that is to be expected." He took a sip of his drink, still musing as he watched the waves. "I noticed you have been visiting him. I thank you for that courtesy."

"You don't have to, I visit Tarrlok's grave because I want to for my own reasons." Korra didn't really like discussing this subject, it waded too deeply in memories she didn't wish to trek in.

"I know." Noatak gave her regretful glance before his pale eyes looked out at the horizon again. "But I owe you my gratitude either way. Your compassion really knows no limits if you still keep returning to me even after five years."

"You think that's what it is? Compassion? You think I come to you time and time again out of sympathy? Boy, are you wrong." Korra spoke almost angrily but at the same time she snickered at his uncharacteristic naivety. How could this intelligent and perceptive man think that she just came to him out of compassion when it was obvious that he gave her what she needed just as much as she gave him? His self-loathing must really be crippling to blind him so. "And here I thought you were smart enough to understand me after all these years."

"Perhaps I just didn't wish to get my hopes up." Noatak seemed to smile almost sadly, without the mask he had once worn he lacked any restraint on his emotions.

"Maybe you should get them up anyway." Korra smiled and the silence that followed her words was laced with a new kind of magnetic tension that compelled her to sit closer to him.

"This is good." Korra spoke after several quiet minutes, complimenting the tea and taking an appreciative sip of the steaming drink. "Strong, spicy but delicately sweet too."

"I figured you might like it." He looked at her again with those icy eyes filled with long-lost tenderness.

"What is it exactly?" Korra took another sip, nearly burning her tongue but not really caring before she popped a sweet dumpling in her mouth.

"My own blend of things." He replied cryptically. "Or perhaps I should call it _your_ blend."

"Mine?" She looked puzzled and spoke mid-chew with the dumpling still in her mouth.

"Yes. You inspired it." Noatak smiled courteously and took another sip of his own cup, savoring the taste on his tongue. "Powerful, strong, complex, spicy… And yet sweet, smooth, balanced and utterly delicious. Just like you."

"Oh…" Korra felt her cheeks flame up slightly as she looked into her cup, trying to avoid his penetrating gaze. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"As you should." Noatak leaned closer and tipped her chin with his fingers, noting the rosy blush on her caramel cheeks. "Lovely hue… Almost as dark as this tea." He remarked and sloshed his cup slightly in front of her.

"Are you flirting with me, Noatak?" Korra smirked but her cheeks turned a darker shade of red. It always amazed her how his mood could shift and adapt so easily if she just said the right words every once in a while.

"I believe so." He leaned closer until she could feel the heat radiating from his body. "Is it working?"

"Shut up and kiss me already." The Avatar ordered snappily, pouting defensively in face of his forwardness.

"With pleasure." Noatak's rough lips captured hers in a tea flavored kiss.

Their lips molded together in slow but intense passion as their tongues began a dance of impatient desire and need, everything about that kiss was a contradiction- it was urgent but languid, deep but delicate, passionate but tentative, loving but aggressive, familiar but explorative.

Korra's cup fell from her hands and shattered on the hardwood floor with a crash but they were unfazed by it and the sound just seemed to make them kiss more feverishly as her hands slipped around his neck to pull him closer to her.

Noatak broke the kiss suddenly, leaving her breathless as he pulled her closer and his hands found her thighs, hoisting her up he stood and carried the brawny Avatar as if she weighed no more than a kitten only to settle her on the smooth polished wood counter before kissing her again, deeply and with breathtaking intensity.

In what seemed like no time at all, Korra was clawing his clothes open for her hands to trail across the flat marred expanse of his chest and their passionate kiss was broken only long enough for the Avatar to toss off her own winter coat before their lips latched together once more. Noatak's hands trailed into her top and slid up her sides, dragging the blue fabric up until her supple firm breasts were fully exposed and his thumbs were flicking at the rapidly hardening chocolate nipples playfully and teasingly.

Korra moaned into his lips arching up to his touch with her bold hands slipping lower down his body to grope and rub the hardened bulge at his crotch before the kiss broke among groans of desire.

"Impatient as always, I see." Noatak remarked playfully, pressing closer to her and murmuring the words in puffs of warm air that tickled her skin.

"Can you blame me? I day dreamed about this all week. I can't wait any longer for your little games, I want you now." Korra commanded with a slight pout like a demanding little kid.

"Well then, let's not delay this any longer, shall we?" The husky words sent shivers down Korra's spine as he kissed provocatively up her neck.

The cold didn't matter, the snow outside made no difference in the little tea-scented shop and in less than five minutes clothes were piled on the floor as the Avatar sat on that counter with arms and legs wrapped around her standing lover, crushing them together with the two sinuous bodies melting to each other in a stark contrast of skin tones, deep cinnamon meeting marred tan.

The friction between those two heated bodies was delicious as they merely grinded to each other, lost in kisses and caresses that allowed their wayward mouths to explore smooth and rough skin seductively and provocatively with Korra's hard nipples grinding to his chest as his own hardened flesh stroked between the hot wet petals of her sex. But the Avatar was far too impatient and she pulled him closer demanding more between fervent kisses all over his large form and Noatak complied, burying a hand in her hair to force her head back so his lips could capture hers again to swallow her moans as he finally impaled her soaked heated core with his rock hard cock.

Noatak's mouth swallowed all the loud moans that she let slip into the kiss as he slammed into her at a slow unhurried pace and their bodies undulated together ardently. Soon the kiss broke and Korra's voice rang loudly and demandingly in the tiny shop as he nipped and kissed down her throat, holding her body in a crushing embrace while her nails dug into his shoulders scratching and clawing as the rhythm became more and more intense, faster and faster and completely frantic.

Her demands for more where deafening and his own groans were music for her ears, soon their movements were so wild that the whole counter shook and beads of sweat dewed all over their bodies.

"Come for me, Korra." Noatak purred huskily into her ear with urgency as well as provocation and the sound made all the blood in her body rush to her head with sudden adrenaline.

Sparks of flame practically gushed from her mouth from uncontrolled bending as the Avatar tipped her head back and arched to him, screaming passionately and giving in to pleasure as the tingling coil deep inside her snapped and she climaxed with earth shattering force, all her nerves firing until she saw white and her muscles seized, limbs clinging to his body, nails digging into his flesh and the intimate core of her body clenching around him with possessive and lewd intensity.

Her reactions were far too delicious to resist and Noatak couldn't take it anymore. His arms banded around her powerfully, possessively and protectively, the sight of her ecstatic face overwhelmed him almost as much as her physical reactions to him as his frantic rhythm reached a peak and his self-control snapped, pleasure fired in every nerve and she clung to him so tightly that he couldn't even pull out as hot jets of liquid essence poured from his body into hers as he followed her into a indescribable climax.

Noatak ended up dragging Korra down with him until they lay together on the clean but scuffed wood floor, he refused to let go of her as if she were his lifeline and she was more than happy to snuggle to his warm body as they panted together, shakily trying to catch their breaths and tangled together in a warm afterglow that made it obvious how they worshipped each other with love and adoration in that secret little world of their own.

"You know…" Korra murmured hoarsely while kissing lazily up his scared jaw. "If you returned to the city we could have tea together every day…"

"Someday, Korra… Someday." Noatak replied throatily.

"Is that a promise?" She smiled hopefully.

"Maybe." He returned the smile with hesitation, at that moment he wanted nothing more than to follow her to the end of the world, consequences be damned. He kissed her lips lovingly and needy.

"Noatak." She murmured again between long loving kisses. "It's not compassion, that's not why I do this. It's not physical attraction either."

"Then what?" Noatak found her words easy to believe since he felt that someone as beautiful as the Avatar should not feel attracted to such a damaged man but he needed to hear this, he needed to know what she wanted to tell him.

"It's love." She smirked playfully and kissed him once more. She had not forgotten the past and she never ignored what he could do but it no longer mattered, he was her secret and he was her love, one that she craved for with every guilty breath she took.

"I love you too, Korra." He replied simply and with uncomplicated honesty. Yes, their mutual past was complicated; yes, he should hate her with every fiber of his being; yes, he should despise what she was; but in that tiny little universe, in that rickety little teashop, he could honestly say that he loved her with all that he was.

They kissed again, slowly and tenderly until they simply needed air and couldn't take the chilly winter breeze on their heated bodies anymore, luckily there were plenty of ways for the two secret lovers to warm up.

"Round two?" Korra murmured, nuzzling into his neck- she loved his scent now, it the old days he just smelled of ash and blood but now he smelled of tea and of the sea and that simple scent was home to her.

"As you wish, Korra." He chuckled rolling over her in that cool wooden floor. "As you wish."

~~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~~

_(Author's Note: Damn it, masksarehot! Why did I have to read your "Tea" attempt! It inspired me to turn my fluffy/angsty "Tea" into fluffy smut!_

_…Oh well… I regret nothing ^^')_


	4. Day 4: Apology

Day 4: Apology

Korra was frantic, she had no idea how things had escalated so quickly before she could do anything but if she didn't act now she would never have chance to. Her emotions were mess, ranging from fear, anxiety and shame to fury, determination and spite; she wouldn't let them do it, she couldn't let them decide her future without giving her a chance to fight for it.

She walked up the polished white marble steps with her fists clenched at her sides, clad in one of her usual high collared sleeveless blue tops, indigo slacks and her typical fur waste sash along with the cobalt arm-warmers that had become her staple, but despite the usual clothes, her hair was a lose tangled mess from running her fingers through it in panic and frustration.

"Avatar Korra?" Two metalbending police officers were standing guard at the doors of City Hall but she marched right past them. "Wait! You can't go in there! Stop…"

The men tried to halt her but Korra pushed them back with swift airbending and slammed open the massive doors with her considerable strength, stomping inside like a wild beast. Her anger flared further with adrenaline pumping in her veins but what she found inside that polished pristine hall made her blood run cold.

The Council was gathered in their seats looking stern, distant, cold and unmerciful, even Tenzin and the flirtatious Water councilman Verrick seemed hard and ruthless as they stared down at the man kneeling on the ground before them. Chief Beifong and more of her officers surrounded the prisoner but it was unnecessary, not only was he securely bound in metal shackles and anklets, he was also obviously dazed and maybe paralyzed, possibly drugged, his handsome face was covered in dark bruises as if he had made no attempt whatsoever to defend himself from an attacker.

"AVATAR KORRA! What is the meaning of this?!" The head of the Council stood, appalled by her rude entry. The prisoner on the ground immediately looked towards her, dazed pale blue eyes going wide with unadulterated panic- he obviously didn't want her to interfere and she knew it.

"That's what I should be asking! Why the fuck is this going on behind MY back?" Korra roared furiously and rushed forward, shoving Lin Beifong out of the way to stand next to the crouched prisoner.

"Avatar, this matter need not concern you." The Earth councilman replied bluntly.

"Need not concern me? I was the one who defeated Amon! I was the one who ended that war! I was the one to return the bending of every single equalized victim! I am the Avatar! So guess what? IT FUCKING CONCERNS ME!" Korra shouted, stomping her foot on the floor so violently that the whole structure shook with wayward earthbending.

"Avatar Korra, we are merely holding a trial for a long sought after criminal. If you wish so ardently to participate, please feel free to do so but it will not alter the current situation." The Fire councilwoman spoke with stony politeness, trying to cool the tempers of her colleagues.

"Trial? You call this a trial? No trial starts with the sentence already decided!" Korra snapped in pure outrage with her fists clenching so hard that her nails nearly cut into her palms. "You aren't even going to give him a chance to defend himself! You won't even let the public know what's happening in here!"

"This man has no possible defense! All the evidence and testimonies speak against him. Even his closest allies have accepted to testify towards his guilt, all of us have seen this man's cruelty with our own eyes! Even you saw it, Avatar Korra!" Tenzin spoke out diplomatically but with a cold edge that Korra never knew he possessed. She could only assume that he was still resentful of having his family kidnapped and terrorized, even after seven years he still appeared to cling to such a grudge.

"And the fact that this trial is kept secret is merely to ensure the safety of all those present. After all this man can perform the most atrocious acts of bending known to mankind with only his mind, we would be fools to repeat the mistake that happened in this very hall decades ago with Yakone and your predecessor." Councilman Verrick spoke in his usual mellow voice but distantly and somberly.

"So you've already decided, haven't you? He doesn't even get a chance at defending himself because you're all so scared!" Korra grit her teeth, trying not to shout more than necessary. "Tell me then, what will it be? Life in prison?"

"I'm afraid the situation is far more complicated than that, Avatar." The head councilman spoke harshly but seemed reluctant to look her in the eye.

"His skills are too powerful. Putting him in jail would be a recipe for disaster, he would become a threat to everyone around and could easily escape again so in the end locking him up would be impractical." It was Chief Beifong who spoke and Korra spun to face the woman with shock stamped on her face as if she had just been slapped.

"…What?" Korra spoke softly at last but everyone seemed too uncomfortable to respond so she shot accusatory looks at every Council member with her panicked rage flaring further. "You intend to execute him?!"

"He has left us no other choice." The head councilman spoke again.

"WHAT?!" Korra marched right up to the Council table, slamming her hands onto it. "Who do you think has spent the past seven years cleaning up old equalist cells and dismantling the gangs for you?! HIM!" Korra pointed stubbornly towards the kneeling prisoner whose pale eyes remained lifeless and resigned with his shoulders slumped and his head bowed in defeat. "Does he even look like he'd try to escape? Has he resisted arrest so far?" Korra snapped towards the Chief of police this time.

"He did at first but eventually he submitted willingly." Lin agreed reluctantly, neglecting to point out that her men might have been unnecessarily violent and overzealous given their own past grudges on the man, then again that much was evident given the state he was in.

"Do you have any proof supporting these claims, Avatar Korra?" Councilman Verrick was the only one who seemed inclined to hear her out, possibly because he was the only one who hadn't been directly affected by Amon.

"How can I have proof when he was forced to work outside the law in this? Can't you just take my word as Avatar?!" Despair tinted Korra's angry voice so deeply that it hurt to listen.

"Why do you insist in defending him?" Tenzin asked in complete confusion. "You of all people have seen the horrid acts Amon committed! You were his victim time and time again! He terrified you! How can you possibly stand here and protect him so ardently?"

"Korra, don't…!" The man formerly known as Amon spoke out at last, guessing what she was going to do by the way she glared and violently grasped at her clothes. He tried to reach out to her but it was too late, she wasn't listening.

"Because of this!" Korra shocked them all pulling off her top in a split second, tossing the garment away without a care. Underneath she wore only typical Water Tribe bandages around her breasts, her smooth cinnamon skin was peppered with a myriad of scars from all the battles she had fought but what she truly wanted them to see, what she hid under all the high collared tops and tunics she so often wore, was the necklace around her neck- the band was sturdy black leather decorated with spiraling indigo waves and a carved stone hung from it blending translucent cerulean and crimson in a lovely yin-yang pattern.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The head councilman was aghast once again. "Put your clothes back on this instant!"

"Are you implying that you are…_married_ to this…this _man_?!" Verrick hesitated, highlighting the words as if they tasted bitter and completely disgusting in his mouth while he gawked at the choker.

"That's impossible!" Tenzin stared at Korra with disbelief. "Korra, please tell me that's not true!"

"It's true!" Korra stared at the Council defiantly. "Noatak is my husband! The Avatar has been married to the man previously known as Amon for the past five years and you can either deal with it or make an enemy out of me!"

"This is outrageous! Preposterous! Abominable even!" The Fire councilwoman gasped out looking horrified.

"This can't be. He must be manipulating her! Amon and the Avatar cannot possibly coexist at that level! He must be using her for this exact purpose, to secure his freedom!" The Earth councilman spoke his colleagues, many of which seemed immediately inclined to agree.

"DON'T SPEAK OF US AS IF WE'RE NOT EVEN IN THE ROOM!" Flames gushed around the Avatar, effectively capturing everyone's attention again. "He did not manipulate me! I love him and I don't need to explain myself to any of you! It's none of your business why we love each other but if you think I'm just going to sit back while you kill my husband you definitely have another thing coming."

"Avatar Korra, Amon is a dangerous man who gathered an army and nearly destroyed this city. He sealed his fate himself and any intimate relationship he might have with someone of your status does not give him any privileges. Even as your husband he is not above the law." The head councilman spoke with sharp finality and the other Council members agreed with the exception of Tenzin who looked torn and betrayed.

"So your mind is made up." Korra's voice dropped into a dangerously soft tone. "That makes you no better than the monster you think you're judging! You have steeped even lower than Amon ever did with this hypocrisy! Well then, if that's what you want…"

"Korra, stop." Noatak tried to appeal to her again, unable to just watch anymore, but she still wasn't listening.

"My predecessor as Avatar founded this nation…" Korra glared icily towards the Council table, waving her hand around angrily. "Make an enemy out of me and I assure you I will tear it down with every last breath in me."

"Is that a threat, Avatar Korra?" The Fire councilwoman glared back at Korra.

"Do you think yourself above the law?" The Earth councilman took the side of his colleague.

Korra wasn't listening to them anymore, their outraged protests and furious remarks fell unto deaf ears as the Avatar's eyes began to glow a ghostly white. Wind billowed around her with shattering force sending police officers flying and furniture crashing, moisture was sucked out of the very air and rippled around her in slithering wisps of water, flames burst to life licking at everything they could reach to leave charred patterns behind, the earth rumbled and the polished white marble pillars of City Hall began to crack along with the very ground they stood in and yet Korra did not even move as her hair whipped around her face and the forces of nature fell under her control with dangerous force making her float ever so slightly into the air while the trial hall turned into a warzone, leaving only the spot where Noatak still kneeled intact as she shielded him with her power.

"NO! KORRA, STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Noatak stumbled to his feet, dragging the shackles with him, and reached out to her, ignoring how the wind pushed him back and the flames licked and sizzled painfully on his skin as he reached out to her pulling her into his arms. "Stop, Korra." He commanded insistently.

"They will kill you." She spoke harshly and coldly with a voice that wasn't her own but the voice of all the Avatars mingled as one.

"I know." Noatak held her blank glowing gaze fearlessly while all the policemen and councilors fought to simply stand against the massive pressure of her power. "I have been prepared for that eventuality for a long time. I deserve it for what I have done, Korra. The past seven years do not erase all the sins of my past."

"I don't care. I need you." Korra replied with her voice already wavering back to its original smoky tone rather than the polytonal sound of the Avatar voice.

"I'm sorry, Korra." Noatak traced her cheek as well as he could with his shackled hands. "I'm so sorry for putting you through this. The past seven years have been the best of my entire life but I don't deserve you and you need to let go for the Avatar cannot make the world her enemy over one sinful man, the Avatar must be impartial and fair. Please, Korra, be an Avatar both I and the world can be proud of and stop this insanity."

"Noatak…" Korra whispered out and closed her eyes, leaning to his touch as the ghostly glow seeped out of her body. Faster than it had started, the destruction ceased and the elements calmed silently until the flames flickered into nothing, the water splashed into motionless puddles on the ground, the earth still and the overwhelming pressure of the wind lifted in a single breath.

City Hall was a mess but everyone seemed unharmed, the councilors picked themselves up from the ground as the police surrounded the couple that stood in the middle. Korra wept silently, eyes still closed as she wrapped her arms around Noatak as tightly as she could, knowing it might be the last time she could even so much as embrace him. Noatak reacted by holding her quietly to his chest and petting her hair in a tender goodbye, heedless of all the opposing presences that watched them.

Nobody spoke, Korra didn't know whether it was out of shock, fear or a simple shred of respect for their farewell but she began to hate the silence even though she refused to open her eyes, she refused to move her face away from his chest so they could watch her cry and witness her weakness but Noatak seemed to have other plans and tipped her face so she was forced to open her eyes and look up at him. He wiped away the tears and kissed her softly.

"Be brave, Korra. Don't hate them for doing justice." He whispered for her ears only before letting go and stepping away.

Korra was too shell-shocked and grief-stricken to react and merely watched him, wondering what he was about to do as he walked up to the now standing Council members and kneeled, bowing low enough for his head to graze the ground.

"I realize nothing I can say will change the fate you have bestowed on me, I realize I deserve it and I know that all my efforts to make amends for the past were nowhere near enough to outweigh my sins." Despite the humiliating position he spoke with charismatic certainty. "But I beg that you accept my apology, in fact I wish I could apologize to the world for my warped actions in the past and I beg that you do not judge the Avatar for our relationship. I apologize that my love for her has led Korra to act so brashly and if I am entitled to a last wish it is only that you forgive her for today and continue to grace her with your respect."

The Council members exchanged uncomfortable glances and said nothing for several long moments but Noatak never stood from his prostrated pose.

"Don't apologize for me! Don't you dare apologize for loving me!" Korra snapped out of her daze and rushed forward, launching herself at the feet of the Council, looking at them all, especially Tenzin and the approaching Beifong, with pleading teary eyes as she shielded Noatak with her body. "Please, I'll do anything you want, just please reconsider your sentence."

"I suppose if the Avatar vouches for him we could put him on permanent house arrest…?" Tenzin suggested hesitantly to his fellow councilors.

"And how exactly would that be punishment for his actions?" The Fire Councilwoman snapped, though a lot less coldly.

"Well, we could always just exile him…" Verrick put in tentatively.

"And what would stop him from sneaking back in with a new horde of equalists and wreaking havoc?" The head councilman counter-pointed.

"If I may be so bold as to suggest a simple solution to all this?" Beifong stepped in, standing in a perfect military salute.

"We are listening." The head councilman nodded in agreement.

"The war has been over and done with for seven years, we won and the city has since returned to normal or even better thanks to the lessons we learned back then- the police force now employs chi-blockers, non-benders have higher representation and the major gangs have been dismantled. If this man has indeed helped clear the remaining terrorist cells and has aided our great city these recent improvements then perhaps he deserves better than a death sentence but he must not go unpunished for his crimes…" Beifong paused for a moment to give Korra a sorrowful look. "The Avatar was the one most affected by the tragic events of the war and she herself has managed to forgive, I propose that we investigate the past seven years further and if Korra's allegations prove to be true we could try and learn from her example."

"Forgiveness? Is that your solution?!" The Fire councilwoman enquired snappily.

"What better way to show that the bender society Amon opposed is not the ruthless tyranny he preached? What better way to stand above the equalists?" Tenzin came suddenly in Lin's aid, adding his own take on her words.

"But he is still a uniquely skilled bloodbender and that practice has been outlawed under heavy penalties." The Earth councilman seemed indecisive but apparently it was mostly fear that held him back.

"The Avatar could take his bending. It would be fair considering that he did the same to thousands of others." The Chief of police suggested practically. "And if our investigation proves to be void then without his bending we could legally imprison him for life without having to resort to extreme measures."

"No! I promised I would never take anyone's bending!" Korra interjected but Noatak grabbed her hand to soothe her.

"It's alright, Korra. If that is what they decide, I will accept it. The Chief is right, it is fair." Noatak spoke softly to the Avatar, urging her to accept whatever the Council decided. After all, to him anything was better than to have to part from Korra and to her anything was better than watching him die.

"Alright…" Korra gave in sadly.

The Council members looked at each other once again, seeking a spark of disapproval between them but none was found.

"I believe that solution befits all sides of this matter." Tenzin spoke for the Council and they all nodded solemnly in agreement. The Avatar's words had had just as deep an impact as the Chief's and nobody really wanted to make an enemy out of Korra so the easy solution seemed like a best course of action. "However, a public statement of apology towards the city will be necessary."

"I would be humbled to acquiesce to that demand." Noatak replied, still kneeling, not just out of pleading respect but also because whatever they had drugged him with to keep him from bloodbending was making him far too weak to stand up again.

"Therefore…" The head councilor began to speak in absolute command. "It is the Council's decision that the man formerly known as Amon be stripped of his bending and placed under domiciliary arrest until an investigation conducted by Chief Beifong herself is concluded, only then will the final sentence be decided."

"Thank you." Korra let out a breath of relief and hugged Noatak once again, clinging to him for dear life as she looked towards the Council again. "And I'm sorry for losing control earlier."

"We will try to overlook that little indiscretion so long as you fulfill your side in this matter." Verrick stated with something akin to friendliness.

Korra hesitated and looked at her husband with grief painting her face in ashy colors all over again as she paled.

"Do it, Korra. Take away my cursed bending once and for all." Noatak spoke tiredly but with supporting kindness.

"I'm so sorry…" The Avatar stood slowly, her voice was filled with sadness but she knew that if she didn't do this now she might never have the strength of heart to remove his bending and live with the guilt, she needed to get it over while she still remembered that there was no other way.

She supported one hand on his shoulder and raised the other, once again her eyes glowed brightly in an ethereal white as she pressed her fingers to his forehead and the light that blazed inside her poured into his body, running through it in a flash. It was over in seconds and when she backed away with her eyes returning to their cerulean blue, tears were stinging at them.

For the first time Noatak experienced the true terror and emptiness of losing his bending, it was as if part of his soul had been ripped out, as if he were missing a limb, but it wasn't quite the pain he had expected, it was the hollowness, the despair, the loss of purpose that truly overwhelmed him. Guilt swamped him like tar, dragging him into an abyss of self-hatred as he realized this was how every single one of his victims had felt, this was how Tarrlok had felt… Noatak could finally understand why his brother had so easily decided to give away his life to destroy them and the fact that his bending had saved him from the explosion only added more guilt to the already unbearable load in his chest, he could barely breathe with the immensity of what it all meant and he was sure that if he had not had Korra by his side, if her hand wasn't holding his and if didn't have her love to give him purpose he would have willingly given up on living, whether it was necessary or not. And yet he still had one thing to live for, he still had her and for all Korra had sacrificed for him, for all she had forgiven, he would be loyal to her for the rest of his life, a life that he would spend making amends and trying to find some solace for his burdened soul.

"It's done." Korra awoke him from his dazed thoughts even though she spoke to the Council.

"Then this meeting is adjourned, Avatar Korra. The metalbending police will escort you both home." The head of the Council dismissed everyone decisively and the higher powers of the city turned their backs on the unpleasant situation, leaving Korra and Noatak in Beifong's hands.

"Thank you, Korra." Noatak forced the words out, his voice was heartfelt and he knew that she needed those words to soothe her own distress just as much as he needed to say them. "For taking my bending, for defending me, for loving me…."

"I'll never let anyone take you from me again." Korra embraced him tightly once more, murmuring the words in his ear. "I love you, Noatak. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I had to do that…"

"Hush, Korra. Everything will be alright." He hugged her back, his soothing voice chasing away her fears. "I love you too."

"Time to go." The Chief ordered, tossing the Avatar her discarded top that she slipped back on at last.

"Thank you, Beifong. For everything." Korra surprised the Chief by hugging her tightly before she moved back to help support the weakened Noatak after the shackles had been removed.

"I owed you one." Lin replied blatantly.

"I would like to thank you as well, Chief Beifong." Noatak looked at the woman with mournful honesty in his pale eyes. "And it might be worthless now but I apologize for what I did to you in the past, as Amon."

"…Never underestimate the power of an apology." The Chief replied simply and turned to leave with rapid strides, forcing the couple to keep up as the rest of the police force escorted them home.

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

_(Author's Note: FINALLY 'APOLOGY' IS DONE! Gah, this was the worst one so far for me! Can't wait to start 'Scars' now!)_


	5. Day 5: Scars

Day 5: Scars

I wake up with a gasp, shaky, sweating and slightly dazed. I have been dreaming of the past, of things that I really wish were no more than a nightmare, it's been seventeen years and I still can't get it out of my head, it's been over a decade and a half and it still haunts my dreams.

Her soft snores pull me out of my half-dreaming state and I turn to face her… Goodness, she's so beautiful.

Even after all these years it's still fascinating and surreal to wake up by her side, to watch the way her hair tangles around her in waves of chestnut, how her brows pinch slightly and her full lips part with hints of drool in the corner making her look endearing, vulnerable and a little lost but most of all making her seem oh so young and mesmerizingly pretty… To think that I spent so long despising her is to remember how I wasted my youth with hatred when I could have been protecting this woman with all my heart.

A creak alerts of me of somebody's presence as the door to our room opens ever so slightly in the gloomy half-light of dawn, the motion is slow and almost completely silent. I know who it is, they are at it again so I'll just pretend to still be asleep for now.

"RAAAAWR!" I hear the playful demanding cry even before I feel the sudden weight pouncing over my body. I catch my attacker quickly and pull the second one to me before it can tackle the suddenly alert and confused Korra.

"Ah! Huh…? What…?" My wife looks absolutely adorable, looking around with heavy eyes, a lost scowl and hair sticking out in awkward angles.

"Ah….No fair! I wanted to get mommy!" The boy I pulled to my arms is kicking and struggling as much as he can to try and grab at Korra, this eight year old bundle of energy scowls with a face that looks almost eerily alike the Avatar's.

"You little rascals! It's barely dawn!" Korra snaps and yawns half amused and half upset as she drags the boy into her arms.

"Did we scare you? Did we?" The other boy, the one who tackled me in the first place, is now bouncing on my lap excitedly with that face that is the exact copy of his brother's lighting up with joy.

"You scared the living daylights out of me." I reply with a grin, ruffling the child's chestnut hair playfully. They never manage to catch me and only occasionally succeed in tricking Korra but my little pranksters always look so happy when their plans succeed so I can't help but lie.

The twins squeal at my reply and literally jump all over us both wearing identical grey slacks and maroon tunics, it's fairly obvious that sleep time is over and as much as I know this will leave Korra grumpy, I still believe that is the best way to wake up. Even my horrid dreams are long gone, chased away by the laughter of the boys that Korra is now attempting to tickle senseless as punishment.

A new noise by the door makes me look towards it and I see a sleepy twelve year old girl rubbing her eyes as she stares into the room, wearing her simple lilac sleeping tunic with dark coffee colored hair looking disheveled and sticking out of her loopy twin braids as she drags an indigo blanket behind her.

"What's happening…?" She murmurs with a sleepy pasty voice.

"Did we wake you, Nilak?" I ask my eldest daughter with a tender smile, as much as I love my boys it's this little one that is pride and joy and the twins know that but they really don't mind, they worship their big sister completely.

"Nilaaaaaaaaaaaak!" One of the boys, I'm not sure whether it's Tokkala or Korei since they look too much alike, runs right into his sister, forcing her to hug him just to avoid toppling over. "We scared mommy and daddy."

"You did?" Nilak smiles still sleepy but looks up at me skeptically with those lovely pale eyes of hers- she's a sharp girl.

"Oh yes, they certainly did." I think I might have been a little too sarcastic but the boys didn't seem to notice and Nilak always appreciates my humor.

My son drags his big sister to our bed and they jump right onto me, it's a mess of elbows, kicks and heavy squealing bodies but to me it's paradise.

"Mommy, what's this?" My other son is poking at Korra's ribs, it's Korei I think given that he's doing that little finger tapping thing he often does unconsciously.

"Huh?" Korra looks down. She's wearing only baby-blue undergarments, the skimpy new kind that has become popular in Republic City in the recent years, rather the typical Water Tribe wrappings she used to wear in the old days; she has no shame around the children and is always comfortable with her body which is still athletically toned and beautiful despite all the minor scars and the natural roundness afforded to her from two pregnancies. The sight of her delectable body still makes my blood boil but at the same time it makes me all the more self-conscious about the wrinkles and grey hairs that I have, being so much older than my powerful wife.

"This." Korei insists, jabbing slightly at her ribs and making Korra squirm ticklishly as she examines the clean oblique scar he is poking, one that has begun to fade in recent years.

"It's a scar, honey." My wife replies with a distant sad smile.

"Well DUH!" My son rolls his eyes exhibiting the sass he inherited from his mother. "I want to know what made it."

Korra gives me a hesitant glance before she looks down at our son again, her pause was enough to get the other boy interested too and soon they are both eyeing her expectantly.

"It was an ice spike." Korra replies vaguely.

"But how?" Tokkala put in this time, he's draped over my lap but looking up at his mother.

"I was in a fight with a strong waterbender. It was long before you were born." Korra looks somewhat nostalgically sad but she hides it well behind her proud grin.

"Was it dad?" Nilak surprises us by asking the question quite seriously.

"Nope, it was uncle Tarrlok actually." Her reply makes all the children sit up and stare.

We don't usually speak about Tarrlok in this house, not since… Well, not since he died a couple of years ago. My brother survived the boat explosion that he himself caused, at the last possible second I realized I just couldn't let him end our story so easily, not because of my own desires but because I couldn't stand the thought of destroying my little brother that way, not after all the pain I had already caused him. I had to bloodbend him out of the boat and protect myself with waterbending as the entire vessel exploded into a flaming inferno but somehow we both lived to tell the tale; however, while I bear many scars I still manage to live a normal life nowadays while trying to make amends but Tarrlok, although redeemed, was too damaged, his scars ran too deeply both physically and emotionally and they were a constant reminder of how I had failed him but I never would have imagined that after all the years he spent recovering, after all the smiles and games he graced my children with, that he would take his own life. It hurt me deeply to know that I had been so immersed in my own familiar happiness that I had overlooked the inner agony Tarrlok had been in and that was exactly why Korra and children avoided speaking my brother's name around the house these days… Then again perhaps if they spoke more about him it wouldn't hurt so much whenever he is casually mentioned.

"Why were you fighting with uncle Tarrlok?" Korei tilts his head, asking the question curiously. The twins can read the atmosphere in the room but, like their mother, they are too clueless to know when to be silent.

"Well, it's a long story." Korra tried to smile and pointed at another scar that had almost disappeared from her cinnamon right shoulder. "This one was from then too."

"Was it because uncle Tarrlok was a bad guy back then? From when he was councilor?" Nilak asks unable to restrain her curiosity.

Tarrlok himself had been the one to share the stories of when he had been a villain, craving for power that had gone to his head, in those stories he always made me out to be some sort of supernatural antihero too while painting Korra with almost divine heroism that bordered on adoration; the children had been fascinated by those stories and I was glad that they had learned the truth so young but it always made me wonder if my disfigured little brother might have had deeper feelings for my wife.

"Yeah, that was exactly it." Korra nods in confirmation and plops down unto the bed again, lying on her stomach. Korei promptly crawls over his mother, straddling her waist and petting her back, he knows she likes it so he does it to gain her favor. The twins are very attached to their mother, it is ironic really since they haven't displayed a shred of bending ability so far and therefor spend more time studying with me than training with her.

"What about this one?" Korei prods at a particularly nasty scar on Korra's right shoulder blade that seems to spider along the skin like a webbing of little burns.

"A fight with Lighting Bolt Zolt." I reply rather bitterly. I had warned Korra not to restore that man's bending but she ignored me as always since she made no distinction when returning people's skills. In the end it had been a bad idea because a few weeks later, during a gang riot, that very man had wounded Korra so severely that she had to be hospitalized.

"Did you kick his ass, mommy?" Tokkala asks excitedly.

"Oi! What kind of language is that?" I flick my son's nose in admonishment.

"Sorry." He sulks before looking at Korra again. "Well, did you?"

"Nah, uncle Mako and uncle Bolin were the ones who wailed on him to get even for this." Korra points vaguely over her shoulder. She conveniently forgets to tell them that Mako and Bolin had only actively sought revenge before I could because they knew I would kill the man if I got my hands on him, luckily Mako is a police officer and managed to put Zolt behind bars for a long time.

"And this?" Korei pokes at a scar on Korra's lower back, it's not really very noticeable and appears to be more of a discolored gash. I also remember that injury, though this one holds nostalgia rather than resentment.

"Pro-Bending injury. Right during the championship finals the year before you boys were born." Korra grins smugly with the same nostalgia I'm experiencing.

"Did you win?" Korei leans clumsily forward to look at his mother's face as he keeps tracing her back.

"Of course! That was our third year in a row." Korra looks proud of herself, the taste of that victory had blurred out the memory of the painful recovery from the wound and the forced three year retirement from Pro-Bending.

"What about this one?" Tokkala stretches out to poke at Korra's left hip were a jagged discolored set of scars still makes a stark contrast with her dark skin.

"Attacked by a Panrilla during a mission in the Fire Nation." Korra yawns slightly, still a bit sleepy but since it's her day off she seems to be enjoying this little game with the children.

"How did that happen?" Nilak was the curious one again.

"Your mother and your uncle Bolin thought that Panrilla cubs were cute to play with. Turns out Panrilla mommies are not as nice." I reply with plenty of disapproval in my voice.

"Well they really were cute…" Korra mumbles in her own defense.

"Did you fight the Panrilla?" Tokkala's eyes were almost shinning with excitement.

"No, it caught me by surprise. Aunty Asami was the one that saved me, actually." Korra chuckles at the memory but her words ring true in one point that I have noticed over the years- she's reckless and brash, she jumps into battles and senseless bouts easily but she is also powerful and the scars on her body are either result of highly skilled opponents or due to her own distraction because when she really focuses on a fight it is damn well near impossible to get a strong enough hit on her to leave a mark.

"Wow….Really?" Tokkala seems amazed. "But you're the Avatar! Why do you need people to keep saving you? You can do anything!"

"Honey, no amount of power can replace friends…or love." She adds the last words with a soft glance at me. "Even the Avatar needs a posse, you know? And I happen to have the best one in the whole wide world." Korra smirks smugly again. "And it includes all of you too."

"Speaking of which, there's also this mark right here." I point at the back of Korra's thigh were two half-moon scars decorate her caramel skin.

"Don't even bring that up." Korra is laughing now and the boys are curious.

"What is it?" Korei twists his body awkwardly to look at the strange mark.

"That was Nilak." I explain with a playful grin.

"How?" Tokkala seems curious and Nilak looks up at the ceiling with her dark cheeks turning a rosy red.

"When she was little she liked to bite things and she once threw a tantrum and bit mommy so hard that it left that mark." I elaborate while beckoning at the scar. "She really didn't want to let go, I had to practically pry her off by force."

The twins stare at their sister with renewed respect but before they can ask any questions Korra is stretching out her hand to poke at my upper arm.

"And then she did the same to daddy's arm and I had to smack her little butt until she let go." Korra chuckles but Nilak doesn't appear to be amused and keeps looking away with shame.

"Can we see?" Tokkala is already lifting my arm to look for the mark but he doesn't seem to be able to find it. I am only wearing sleeping pants so it should be easy to find such a unique mark but I know why he can't detect it- my left arm that he is examining is almost completely scarred over, hiding any other marks, along with my entire back, my left ear, hip, side and thigh, the left side of my jaw and my neck. Such marks are the result of the explosion that nearly took my life and Tarrlok's but while for most people the sight of my marred flesh is disturbing, for my children it is nothing new and not even remotely intimidating.

"Can't find it?" I asked, amused by his scowl as he continues to search.

"Nuh-uh." Tokkala shakes his head.

"I guess the burn scars hide Nilak's teeth marks well." I chuckle as my daughter pouts.

"Yeah, well, if it's scars your daddy here is the champion for sure." Korra blurts out with no ill-will, I know she isn't bothered by my appearance in the least.

"Daddy, is it true?" Tokkala looks at me with distress. "What uncle Tarrlok said about this being his fault." The boy pats my scarred arm and I have to suppress a sigh at the anxious expressions all the children wear, only Korra seems impassive as she watches my reaction.

"It wasn't his fault, if anything it was mine for pushing him too far. But that's a grown-up problem, you shouldn't have to worry about it." I know someday I will have to try and explain this to them and I can only hope that they will understand it, they probably only saw Tarrlok's stories as stories but someday I will have to make them see the truth in those tales and I just want them to learn from my mistakes. However, now is not the time to corrupt their innocence with such darkness.

"Does it still hurt?" Tokkala pokes at my scarred jaw and I grin softly.

"Not in the way you think."

"What does that mean?" Tokkala makes a face, annoyed at my cryptic reply, he really is just like his mother and so is Korei for that matter.

"It means that sometimes the scars inside keep hurting long after the ones on the outside have healed." I think I have just confused my sons further.

"What dad is saying…" Nilak comes to my rescue, finally looking at me with hesitation. "Is that some scars can't be seen on the skin, some wounds are in your heart and mind in the form of memories and they hurt more than these marks." She points at my marred skin and I am impressed by her insight.

"I don't get it." Tokkala huffs and crosses his arms.

"Look at it this way…" Korra appears to be thinking of an example. "What would be worse? You and Korei fighting and hurting each other or you and Korei being separated forever?"

"Separated." Both boys reply immediately without a second thought.

"Exactly. And what would hurt more?" Korra continues, looking right at Tokkala. "If Korei punched you or if he said he hated you?"

"…I would rather be punched." Tokkala looks panicked at his brother as if seeking some kind of confirmation that he is not actually hated and as usual Korei reads his twin like a book and jumps off Korra's back to hug him.

"That's what the wounds on the inside are, sweety." Korra finishes her explanation and rolls to her side again, propping her head on her hand as she watches us all.

"Do those ever stop hurting?" Korei is the one asking this time but both twins look up at me expectantly.

"I don't know yet, boys. But there are things that make it feel better, things that make it all worth it." I reply simply but I am still considering their words, so far none of the inner scars of my past have stopped paining me but time certainly has made them bearable along with the happiness that I have today, even though I still don't think I deserve it.

"Like what?" They ask in unison.

"For me?" I watch them nod and smile while tracing their cheeks with my thumbs. "For me it's your mother and Nilak and both of you. It's your love and your smiles that make it all worth it."

"Seriously?" Tokkala sounds skeptical.

"You're just saying that! It can't be that easy." Korei pouts a little.

"It's not easy at all but it's the greatest thing in the whole world to me." I chuckle at their naïve skepticism but answer with honesty and to my surprise Nilak leans into my arms and I instinctively wrap an arm around her shoulders to hug her close.

"I don't get it." The boys speak together once one more.

"Someday you'll understand, boys." Korra pats their heads and leans over them to kiss me. "You mean the world to me too, Noatak." She murmurs into my lips in reply to my statement.

I kiss her back sweetly and watch the twins cling a little jealously to her. I react by grabbing them all and pulling them all closer to me, Korra smiles at my side as the boys tumble onto our laps and once again I feel like I'm dreaming, like this world is too good to be true for someone as unworthy and as scarred as me… But I crave it and cling to it, I will never let go of my wife and my family even if I have to endure a thousand more scars for them.


	6. Day 6: Secret Admirer

_(Author's Note: This was a little hard for me but here it is. I noticed all the 'secret admirer' prompts so far were either comical or fluffy so I decided to be different and made something darker. Once again I fail at brevity and made something huge._

_Trigger Warning: Dub-con smut.)_

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

Day 6: Secret Admirer

The crowd still roared and chattered loudly making the whole arena hum with unparalleled excitement that fueled Korra's ego in the most delicious way, she was energetic and jumping around proudly, hugging Bolin and Mako enthusiastically. The match was over and they had just defeated an old Firreferets nemesis- the Tu Zin Tigerdillos.

Korra was ecstatic! It had been almost two years since the equalist war and she had almost given up hope of ever Pro-Bending again. After all she had had her Avatar training to complete and Mako had to focus on his new career as a police officer, so only Bolin had held their Pro-Bending dreams together and yet as soon as the chance arose it hadn't taken much for the earthbender to convince them to reunite the team and now that they had been back in action for a few months, everything seemed so perfect.

They stumbled into the locker-room together with Korra still laughing and Bolin recapping the moves they had enacted during the match. The only one who was silent, albeit smiling, was Mako- he still seemed a bit distant ever since he had agreed that the relationship between himself and Korra wouldn't work beyond friendship but the reunification of the Fireferrets as a team was already sweeping away the residual awkwardness between them.

"Woah! What's all this for?!" Bolin gasped out loudly as he almost fell over the many baskets of bright blood red fire lilies that littered the whole locker room.

"Korra, he's at it again!" Asami, who still remained as the Fireferrets sponsor, walked into the locker with yet another basket of the opulent flowers.

"Again?" Korra rolled her eyes, she was in too good a mood to be annoyed but the mystery of the strange admirer that kept sending her gifts was really making her flustered. "Did he at least send a note this time?"

"Actually, yes." The raven head placed the basket down and presented Korra with an elegant parchment scroll, she then turned to the men with a soft smile. "Congratulations on the victory, guys. That was amazing."

"Wasn't it?" Bolin jumped excitedly and began to recount the most amazing moves of the match all over again while Mako and Asami commented on the other team's performance. They didn't take much notice to Korra's secret admirer anymore, he had been sending stuff for weeks, escalating from simple gifts like dumplings to the huge masses of flowers that overflowed in the locker-room, it had simply become a trivial occurrence.

Korra unfurled the gold rimmed scroll and stared curiously at the message inside- it was written in Fire Nation script but the characters were blotchy and almost illegible, still the message made Korra's smile slip from her lips as if melting off her face.

**'Why are you so perfect? I want you. But people like you never see me.**

**I will make you see me, Korra.**

**You will be mine soon.'**

"Everything alright?" Mako suddenly snapped the Avatar out of her thoughts and she looked up from the note she had been frowning at.

"Oh." Korra plastered a smile back on her face. The note had given her a strange vibe but she didn't want to worry about it, she just wanted to enjoy the afterglow of their victory. "It's nothing. Just another congratulations for our victory." With that she torched the note to ash in her hands with a casual wave and joined her friends again.

"Speaking of which, there's gifts for you guys too." Asami smiled kindly pointing at the male section of the room.

"Awesome!" Bolin rushed to his side to find baskets of handmade sweets, fan letters, drawings, hand-knit fireferret themed dolls and many other things. "The ladies love big Bo."

"Big Bo?" Korra laughed boisterously and Mako joined in with Asami as the firebender checked his fan presents too.

They ended up spending a good deal of time comparing gifts and vigorously recapping the match and making predictions for the next challenge but after a while Korra excused herself to bathe and dress, the others were going out to celebrate at Narook's later but Korra claimed to have duties to attend to at the Temple so she was leaving first and despite all the objections and pleads for her to stay the Avatar had to smile and call it a rain-check with plenty of apologies. She also gave all the flowers to Asami, thinking that they would look prettier in the Sato mansion than in her little room at Air Temple Island.

The late Fall night was chilly as she exited through the back door of the arena but Korra had been raised in much harsher climate and therefore enjoyed the coolness that made her breathe out in warm cloudy puffs. There was a slight breeze in the air and a mistiness shrouding the shores as the full moon shone overheard in the dark skies like a watching eye or a gentle beacon.

Naga was a few blocks away, Korra never let the polar bear dog wait by the arena anymore since the crowds often got rowdy and disturbed the beast so she had learned to leave her furry friend close to a friendly shop by the docks and that was where she was heading when the lights went out.

The nearby streetlamps flickered off with a resounding pop that made her jump slightly. Such sudden power outages weren't usual in Republic City but it had surprised her and she was walking down a dark deserted shabby back street so she hadn't been expecting the loud noise of popping light bulbs.

"Damn." Korra muttered angrily, trying to adapt to the darkness with only the moonlight to light her path. Thankfully, she knew her way quite well and wasn't too worried about it anymore.

The Avatar walked down the street at a steady confident pace but halfway down the cracked cobblestone road something made her stop. There was a soft scuffling noise close behind her and when Korra turned in the shadows what she saw didn't give her time to react- a person in a dark cloak was rushing at her and slammed a set of clumsily fingers onto her body, somehow hitting just the right spots that made her topple over partially paralyzed.

The attacker loomed over her, he was older and much taller than her with deep dark circles under his intense emerald eyes, his hair was pitch black and cropped short, spiking out at odd angles as the man smiled at her with eerie and almost maniacal intensity.

"I told you I would make you see me." His voice was shaky, loud and high pitched.

"What?" Korra's alarmed mind suddenly made sense of the situation. "You're the secret admirer!"

"YES!" The man smiled with insane hope. "Did you like them? Did you like the flowers? Weren't the pretty?" He smiled but then his face contorted in frustration and anger. "I wanted to give you something as beautiful as you but I couldn't find anything good enough! It was so hard!"

"They were lovely." Korra confirmed quickly and still in shock, trying to calm the obviously unstable man before he became more upset.

"Why did you never come to me? Why did you never say thank you?! I was waiting! Aren't I good enough?" The man asked the questions with frantic anguish, still looming over her and shaking slightly.

"I didn't know who you were, I still don't." Korra replied with some irritation, trying to buy time for her paralyzed limbs to recover some feeling. "Who are you?"

"Are you too good to remember me?! We met! We fought during the war! Is this because I'm a non-bender?! I never forgot you! Not for a single day! How could you have forgotten me?" The man shouted, now painfully enraged.

"I'm sorry but I don't…" Before she could finish he was grabbing her by her ponytail and dragging her painfully into a small alley.

"Bitch, do you think I'm not important enough to be remembered?!" The man yelled as Korra hissed angrily, trying to kick with her numbed legs as he tossed her on the ground but as soon as he looked at her glaring face his own angry scowl softened into panic and he leaned down to caress her cheek with fearful tenderness. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean that. Please don't be angry at me."

"You are totally crazy!" Korra spat out angrily with her hair spilling out of her ponytail.

"I'm crazy for you, Korra." The man crouched in front of her. "Can't you see? We are perfect for each other."

Korra flinched away from his strangely sweet breath but her glare did not soften in the least. Bending didn't even matter- she just wanted her numbed limbs to move, if she could just recover control of her body she could push the guy away with sheer brute strength, she was considerably strong after all, even without her bending.

"What do you want from me?" The Avatar asked, once again bargaining for time.

"Nothing. I don't want anything from you, I just want you." The man rambled on with those wide frantic eyes roaming all over her body until she felt like slugs were crawling on her skin. "Korra… Korra, Korra, Korra…" The dragged maniac way he say her name in that high pitched voice actually penetrated Korra's angry aggressive thoughts of escape and rattled her nerves…What did this lunatic intend to do with her? "I'll make you mine, sweet, sweet Korra."

Suddenly all of her thoughts froze in her head, she couldn't breathe and she still couldn't move but her eyes were staring transfixed at what the man was pulling from under his cloak- a gleaming silver blade that twinkled slightly in the moonlight. For the first time in two years, Korra remembered the meaning of fear.

«Is this the end of me? Is this how the Avatar dies? No! No, no, no, this is too pathetic! Fight, Korra.» She yelled at herself internally, desperately trying to get her limbs to move again but even though adrenaline made her recover feeling in her arms and legs all she managed was to kick and flay weakly, it was barely more than twitches and the attacker pinned her down effortlessly with his own body weight.

"LET GO OF ME!" Korra commanded, yelling and considering going into Avatar state as the blade slid up to her chest.

"Shhh…" His hand covered Korra's mouth with strange tenderness. "It will be alright, I'll be quick."

Korra's eyes were wide as she kicked and thrashed, trying to bite and buck frantically. The sharp dagger traced her cheek, leaving behind a soft trickle of blood and rested against her throat, Korra knew then that her window of opportunity had passed- if she went into Avatar State now he would just be jolted into slashing her neck and the Avatar cycle would be compromised.

A shadow blotted out the moonlight and Korra's panicked mind barely had time to register a new presence in the alley before her attacker was flung off her by an invisible force with startling violence. The blade fell on the damp cobblestones of the ground with a clatter and the Avatar took short hysterical breaths as she turned to witness the horrifying scene before her.

The insane man as hanging in the air, his body contorted in unnatural ways, he was screaming in pain and undiluted fear as red began to pour from his parched lips, there were wet ghastly sounds of fluids being manipulated in the man's body and the loud snaps of cracking bones as he resisted. Bloodbending, this was bloodbending at its cruelest and finest but for once Korra didn't even care so long as the insane attacker was kept far from her, then again this was wrong, this was horrifying.

Korra tried to stand but collapsed on her knees and stared at her frightening savior who still stood in the shadows, hooded and focused on torturing the insane person before him like some sort of vile puppet master.

"How dare you?" The voice of her savior spoke to the attacker, it was a dark, low deep baritone with a rusty edge that was scarily familiar- it was a tone that often invaded her nightmares. "How dare you lay a single finger on her, you scum?"

The man's eyes were wide as saucers as he stared into the concealed face of the savior with horrified recognition and the expression matched Korra's wide cerulean orbs, she was confused beyond anything she had ever experienced in her life and a jumble of thoughts rushed messily through her head- she had nearly been killed by an obsessed freak, Amon was alive…And he was saving her… With bloodbending of all things! And his words made no sense whatsoever.

The hooded savior raised a hand and clenched his fist, causing the man before him to contort with all limbs snapping gruesomely as blood spurted from every orifice of his body, from his mouth to his eyes. Seconds later the damaged attacker was flung aside like a ragdoll and moved no more but the dark savior still walked to the fallen man and kicked him violently and angrily in the gut.

«Leave, Korra. Run before he remembers you're here. Go! Go now! GO!» Korra's mind was screaming at her but her body wouldn't react, she was frozen on her knees with her wild hair tousled and a trickle of blood still decorating her stinging cheek.

The hooded man turned to her and the Avatar found herself looking into a mask she knew so well, a mask that still haunted her. Korra's breath was panting out harshly as she struggled to regain control of herself but even her voice was stunned silent.

"How could you let yourself get caught by someone so inept?!" Amon walked to her in quick steady strides. "You could have been killed, Korra! And you call yourself the Avatar?!"

"And why are you so damn riled by it?" Korra's question slipped out in shocked whispers as she tried to crawl away from his approaching form but her pathetic show of fear seemed to be enough to make Amon stop. He let out a breath through the mask and took his classic pose with his hands behind his back.

"Ungrateful, aren't you?" Those colorless eyes behind the mask bore into her like ice spikes.

"How are you still alive?" Korra swallowed dryly but set her face in a defiant scowl. She knew the UR Navy had found Tarrlok's charred remains washed ashore so she had simply assumed that Noatak had died with him and was lost at sea.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He tilted his head, still staring intently at the Avatar.

"What do you want from me?" Korra snapped, just as she had to the anonymous attacker that might or not be dead though she didn't have the guts to confirm it.

"…" Rather than reply, Amon walked to her and picked up her numb and disobedient body, carrying her away from the carnage of his one-sided fight with the crazy man.

"Let me go!" She shouted out, trying to squirm out of his grip.

"Is that anyway to thank your savior, Avatar?" Amon's tone was as steady and diplomatic as she remembered it from the war days and it sent shivers down her spine even as the man carried her bridal-style.

"I told you to let me go!" She growled belligerently and tried to buck away from him.

Amon shocked her further by turning into a smaller and darker side street and slamming her into a brick wall, pinning her body upright with his own.

"I just saved your life, if I wanted any harm to befall you I would have saved myself the trouble and let that lunatic take you out and keep your rotting corpse like some sort of gruesome flesh doll as seemed to be his intention. So if I were you I'd stop being a defiant little brat and would keep my mouth shut for a change." Amon's words were urgent, dark and dangerous in warning but there was no anger in them, he didn't need to raise his voice to get her to freeze with fear. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

That polished mask was barely an inch from her face and those shrewd colorless eyes were narrowed and boring into her like daggers, softening only when she swallowed slowly and nodded in agreement. At that moment she didn't want to test the old nightmare that she had thought was long gone, she feared what he might do to her with those cursed skills but a little spark of logic also told her that he wouldn't harm her and if he tried to take her bending once again he would fail because she could always restore it in Avatar State which made his efforts null.

"Good girl." Amon murmured approvingly but never released the hold on her pinned body, then again she might just collapse if he did let go.

"Why did you save me?" She whispered tentatively in the darkness.

"Because you needed help." And he felt guilty that the attacker had been one of his old followers… And he couldn't bear the thought of seeing her die.

"How did you know I needed help?" She murmured suspiciously.

"I've been watching you for months." His reply was instantaneous and simple but it made Korra shudder.

"Why?"

"I've been testing you, monitoring your actions and rethinking my own philosophies based on your attitudes. I admit I have been impressed... Except for tonight's situation." Amon's hand rose to her cheek, swiping away the drying blood with his cool thumb.

"Why does it bother you so much whether I live or die?" Korra flinched slightly at his touch even though it was purely unconscious.

"I'd like to know that myself." The very same hand that touched her face now reached for the mask, pushing it over his head to expose that handsome serious face that she had only seen once but that had been ingrained in her mind ever since. Those pale blue eyes were barely visible in the darkness but they almost seemed to burn as he looked at her anxious face.

"Please let me go." Korra couldn't stand looking at that face, she couldn't bear the way those eyes appeared to scrutinize her very soul.

"I'm not going to do that." Amon leaned even closer until she could feel the heat of his strong frame molding to her body, crushing her onto the wall.

"What are you doing?" Korra struggled feebly against his form, cursing under her breath. "Let go of me, you monster!"

"Monster…?" Amon didn't move at all, staring at her with cold fury before a dark smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "Well, Avatar Korra, if that is what you think of me then let me show how much of a monster I really am."

"Wha-…"

Before she could even finish a single word his lips were on hers, molding their lips together with bruising force and forcing her mouth open so his tongue could plunder into it with possessive demand. She gasped, too stunned to react while her body betrayed her and relaxed to his returning the kiss with aggressive defiance before she finally came to her senses and wrenched away from him.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Korra shouted out in shock.

"Quiet." Amon ordered softly. He didn't know how to answer her question, he didn't know why he was suddenly giving in to such dark illogical urges but after that terrifying experience in which he thought he might never see her alive again something inside him had just shattered completely and he was now determined to teach her a lesson, to mark his territory like a wild beast. "Cooperate and you might just enjoy this. You'll find that I can be a lot gentler than the lunatic who just tried to murder you."

"I'm starting to think you're just as crazy as him." Korra hissed out, trying to shove away unsuccessfully.

"Maybe I am." His lips crashed onto hers again, plundering her mouth in a devouring kiss that left her breathless and only stopped when she bit at his lip hard enough to bleed and tried to punch him repeatedly with her half-numbed arms swaying precariously.

Amon licked that bitten lip sensuously but a little angry and spun her around so fast that she stumbled and slammed face first into the cold gritty wall before his body was pinning hers again. Korra could feel his harsh hot breath against her skin as his tongue slid up the back of her neck provocatively, leaving cooling trails of saliva while his hands snuck under her shirt to caress her naked skin and slide up to cup her generous breasts possessively and far too forceful.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to kick and fight and bend her way out of there but she was frozen to the spot for some reason that she couldn't even identify. She knew she had to hate this, she knew it should be repulsive but for some reason all the fear and rage were interlaced with adrenaline and a strange sort of dark thrill that made her feel guilty as well heated.

«It's just the rush from a near death experience, Korra! Don't let him do this!» Korra berated herself internally but at the same time a more illogical corner of her mind tried to rationalize on why his hands on her body felt so strangely compelling- he wasn't truly hurting her, he had saved her life and she owed him for that… No, she couldn't think that way, she just couldn't!

His warm mouth latched onto her ear lobe, biting down sharply to make her gasp and tremble as those skillful large hands palmed, traced, tweaked, pinched ad twisted her nipples with rough urgent demand until she Korra was biting into her lip to hold in her voice while her mind turned into a chaotic jumble of confusion and denial.

An abrupt rustle of clothing brought the Avatar back to reality and she realized his hands had left her long enough to shove her slacks down, completely exposing her lower body to the cool night air. She tried to protest, she tried to hide away and fight him at last but before she could truly do anything more than squirm and complain, one of his hands slapped over her mouth as he pressed his body into her back again.

"Stop whining." He ordered into her ear, pushing her so violently to the wall that she was forced to support herself on the bricks with shaky hands rather than trying to lash out at him with what little strength she could conjure. "It doesn't suit you, Avatar." He pulled her top off but twisted it around her wrists so her arms were trapped above her before his hand fell over her mouth again.

Korra glared as well she could in her ensnared position, her shouts were muffled by his powerful grip but he didn't seem to care and began to kiss down her throat as his free hand explored down her ribs and side, following the smooth curve of her hip and trailing between her legs and up her inner thighs, forcing them apart until his skilled fingers slipped between the petals of her sex, exploring boldly and slipping two digits into her depths.

Amon snickered in her ear slightly as Korra grit her teeth and closed her eyes just to avoid seeing him, she felt humiliated and debased but not entirely because of his actions, in fact the true shame came from the fact that her body was unwillingly enjoying his touch and the proof was in the way he made her shudder so easily, the way he made her flush so intensely and in the slippery fluids that dripped down his fingers as he invaded her, pumping his fingers to languidly tease.

"Didn't I tell you that you'd enjoy it?" Amon taunted slightly as she shook her head frantically in denial but to no avail. "Well, either way… You can rest assured that I certainly will savor this to the utmost."

Korra growled into his gagging hand, still trying to resist his provocation but finding it hard to focus when he was so expertly touching the most sensitive erogenous points of her body. His thumb found the sensitive pearl that made her nearly squeal and bite in her own tongue as sparks of almost electrical pleasure shot up her spine, here breasts grinded into the rough brick wall until the nipples chaffed and she felt more vulnerable and exposed than she had ever been in her entire existence! And yet for some reason that knowledge just seemed to make her body even hotter and almost feverish, consumed with exquisite but scary thrills.

His hands withdrew, both from her mouth and her cunt, but soon he shoved his honeyed fingers into her mouth, playing with her tongue and forcing Korra to taste her own salty-sweet essence while his other hand disappeared behind her to trail down her spine sensually before a purr of fabric alerted her of what he was doing.

Korra's eyes flew open at last as a strange sense of surrealism took over her, somehow it didn't feel real at all, it was just too wrong, there was no way she could be feeling the hot rigid length of Amon's cock between her thighs, branding her skin with heat in the chilly night and slipping between her folds, there was no way she was helpless against his body and actually shaking with dread and anticipation as his fingers left her mouth and trailed wetly down her chin before they wrapped dominantly around her throat merely to keep her in place.

"Please…" Korra's voice was strangled and murmured. "Don't…"

"I wish the circumstances could be different, Korra…" He spoke in her ear, his tone was almost pained and the way he said her name was like a stab to the heart. "I really do."

In one graceful move he hitched up her leg, holding it by her thigh as his painfully hard cock pierced right into her cunt swiftly and abruptly, making Korra lurch forward and cry out against her will, gasping and shaking as her weakened body sparked with intense sensation. He began thrusting rhythmically, slamming into the constrictive tightness of her dripping core as his mouth latched onto the curve of her shoulder to kiss and nip as he continued to hold her steady by the thigh and throat.

Korra sunk her pearly teeth into her lower lip, turning her face into a mask of shame and reluctant pleasure and fighting against the moans that bubbled in her throat with each pounding thrust that allowed him to reach and touch places inside her body that sent her every nerve in to overdrive and practically torched her rational thoughts to ashes.

"The faster you submit and let the pleasure consume you, the faster this will end, Korra." The murmured teasingly, confusing her conflicted feelings further but giving her the mental pass she needed to finally crumble to debauched pleasure.

The Avatar relaxed slightly, arching to him almost eagerly and tipping her forehead to the wall as his deeper, harder thrusts finally tore loud moans and cries from her bruised lips.

"Good girl." He cooed again, making Korra's fists clench with angry shame as well a bizarre sense of accomplishment.

The wet smacking sounds as his body defiled hers was deafening in that little deserted alley and her smoky voice echoed around them, getting louder and louder as she allowed the coil of pleasure in her body to tense more and more. Amon's hand travelled from her neck past her supple bouncing breasts and down her body to reach the point of their connection where everything was so hot, tingly and slippery that they could have sworn they were melting into each other; his fingers began pinching and stroking at her throbbing little pearl and suddenly Korra was screaming incomprehensible words as the coil inside her snapped and she was swept away by an earth-shattering climax that made her see sparks and seize in his arms.

Amon let go of her leg and held her by the hips so she wouldn't collapse but he didn't give her a chance to come down from the high of orgasm and continued to pound recklessly and frantically into her soaked clamping cunt until she was clawing at the brick wall, screaming in panted breaths, hearing only her cries and static, seeing only white behind screwed shut lids and climaxing again with sweat sliding down her sensual cinnamon back, chest and forehead.

Only when Korra couldn't take anymore and was sure she would pass out from the sheer intensity of it all, did he finally slow the pace, slamming into her in slower but deeper violent thrusts that jolted her body to the core before her pulled out, groaning her name and spilling jets of thick rich seed all over the smacked red cheeks of her ass and the smooth caramel skin of her back.

He flipped her around and her trapped hands hooked around his neck, the sound of their harsh panting breaths filled the air as Korra collapsed shakily to the dirty ground, dragging Amon with her as his forehead rested against her shoulder and his arms banded tightly and possessively against her. That sight, that sensation of being possessed, was the last thing Korra experienced before the darkness of the night turned into the pitch black world of unconsciousness.

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

The Avatar awoke abruptly with a gasp, sitting up, looking around with dread and confusion as her heart hammered frantically in her chest. She was in a soft bed that was not her own with Naga sleeping on the floor next to her, it was late morning and by the view she saw out the window she guessed she was at a small inn near the harbor that she often passed on her way to Pro-Bending practice. Korra had no memory of how she had arrived at that place but her whole body hurt and not entirely in an unpleasant way despite the miscellaneous bruises peppering her dark skin, she also seemed to have recovered the full use of her limbs and her bending, yet she remembered nothing past the overwhelming, shameful, exhilarating, terrifying experience with Amon and for some reason thinking about it didn't feel traumatic despite the immense confusion and conflicting emotions it brought about.

Korra spotted a vase with a handful of lovely black and white flowers on the small nightstand next to bed but it was the note that nestled between them that grabbed her attention. She grabbed it and flicked it open just like message from the night before and found perfect Water Tribe script directed to her.

**'Avatar Korra,**

**Your demented admirer was wrong- the pompous flare of Fire Lilies does not suit you, the wild rare beauty of Panda Lilies fits you more accurately.**

**I do not know what came over me last night. Seeing that man threaten your life stirred things in me that I did not know existed and I lost my valued self-control, something that has not happened in many years except when it comes to you. I admit that I do not comprehend why I did what I did but will not apologize, I will not regret it and you will never be free of me again.**

**Remember me, Korra.**

**Your _new_ secretive admirer.'**


	7. Day 7: Winter Gala

Day 7: Winter Gala

A wet towel dropped on the ground with a soft thud as Korra tossed it away mid-corridor, having finished drying out her hair enough with it after a long bath; she was barefoot and clad only in a cobalt robe with her mess of chestnut tresses trailing down her back in damp waves.

"Don't leave anything on the floor, Korra." A deep baritone voice echoed softly from one of the nearby rooms. She had no idea how he knew that she had just dropped that towel, he couldn't have heard it so she assumed he just knew her well enough by now.

"Darn neat-freak…" She muttered under her breath, bending the water in the fibers of cloth to pull it towards her so she could sling it over her shoulder.

Korra then moved towards the rooms and spotted all the mail she had received over a chest in the corridor. She picked up the letters, pamphlets and official looking scrolls and quickly skimmed through them until a particularly elaborate envelope caught her eye- it was white, emerald and gold and addressed to the Avatar so she opened the green wax seal and pulled out the note from inside.

"That time of the year again…" Korra sighed and rolled her eyes and the contents of said note, it was a formal invitation to a yearly winter gala hosted by the city Council.

Korra hated that gala; she had gone to the very first one and a couple more since because it was required of her but she never showed her face there if she could help it and the whole world knew why. The party was an annual celebration honoring the end of the equalist war and the start of a new era for benders and non-benders of the United Nations and in the past fifteen years it had become a pretty big deal and was an enormous event where everyone who was anyone was always present.

She didn't dislike the purpose of the gala itself, she actually found the commemorations to be a good thing but it would be absolute hypocrisy for her to go; even though they always requested her presence and often berated her when she didn't show, Korra felt that she was the one who should be angry at their attitude and the reason for all this was something very simple but very personal- while the Avatar was expected and invited her family was not, in fact her husband and children were not welcome in any event regarding city politics. She could always take them anyway as her escorts, if fact the last time she had gone to the event had been with her husband tagging along which ended up being a slap in the face of all those present even though he was perfectly cordial and diplomatic but Korra disliked the whispers, the looks and the general feeling of disapproval and bad atmosphere.

"Mommy?" A little boy that was Korra's spitting image was standing by a bedroom door, rubbing his sleepy eyes and dragging a polar bear dog toy behind him.

"Hey, sweety! What are you doing up?" The Avatar crouched down to the boy's level with the invitation still clutched in her hand.

"Tokala kicked me awake." The boy whined groggily.

"Did you sneak into his bed again or did he sneak into yours?" Korra smiled softly, knowing full well that the twins always tried to sleep together even though they each had their own beds and they always ended up complaining about one another in the morning.

"I did…" The boy looked down and pouted slightly, not liking the situation was turning against him.

"Then you can't really complain, can you, Korei?" She chuckled, ruffling her son's hair playfully as it fell down his shoulders.

"Hmph." He huffed stubbornly under her tousling hand and eyed her for an excuse to change the subject. "What's that?" He pointed at the pretty jade and golden invitation with curiosity.

"This?" Korra held it up and twirled it in her fingers as he nodded. "Nothing important, baby." She used firebending to torch the invitation in her hands right in front of him, making the thing go up in multicolored flames before the sparks and flickering ashes began to float away under the awed gaze of the sleepy child.

"Wow…" The boy murmured, as always he was deeply impressed by anything mama Avatar did and those glittering blue eyes filled Korra with a love so intense that it was almost painful.

"Come here, sweety." Korra beckoned at the boy and picked him up when he came closer. She carried him back into the darkened room but before she could put the boy to bed, the other twin was sitting up sleepily.

"Korei? Mommy?" Tokala, whose hair was a wild mess and who had dried drool on his chin, blinked at them looking half asleep.

"Shh, go back to sleep." Korra murmured softly.

"Can Korei sleep here?" Tokala edged aside to make space in his bed.

"I have a better idea." The Avatar smiled, put down her son, slung the towel around her neck and moved to the empty bed, pushing it until it was pressed to the other bed. "There. Now you can be together and nobody gets kicked around." She picked up Korei again and tucked him into his bed with the other twin quickly reaching closer so they could be within touching distance.

"Stay with us, mommy." Korei begged pulling her roughly by the robe while Tokala nodded fervently.

"But then daddy will be lonely." She tousled both their hairs with a chuckle.

"Daddy's a grown up! He can sleep alone!" Tokala protested straight away.

"Boys, don't be selfish. You have each other so you can let daddy have me." Korra leaned down to kiss them both on the forehead and they reacted by clinging to her and covering her face in sloppy little kisses, trying to sway her into staying with them but to no avail. "Sweet dreams, boys."

"'Night, mommy." They replied in unison as Korra left the room and slid the door shut softly.

She sighed and leaned against the door afterwards, feeling happy and yet so sorrowful at the same time. That gala always reminded her of the stigma people would always hold against her children and it broke her heart to think that they would have to live with the sins of their parents weighing on their shoulders.

At last Korra straightened up and walked to the very last bedroom on the edge of the corridor, she slid the door open quietly and slipped inside already shutting herself inside.

"What kept you?" That deep rusty baritone voice made Korra look towards the bed where her husband lay reclined against the pillows in only his black slacks while reading one of his many books. He looked absolutely delicious- despite the many scars that marred his tan flesh, he was still chiseled like a perfectly constructed warrior and his hair fell over his face and shoulders casually but so sexily.

"The boys woke up again." Korra tossed off her robe, standing completely nude in front of him before slipping on her own indigo slacks and an azure tunic. She did it slowly, mostly to tease him and watch how his eyes strayed from the book to watch her will acute focus.

"And the girls?" He tilted his head, apparently scrutinizing his wife as Korra grabbed a brush and sat on the floor to comb her semi-dry hair.

"Sleeping like rocks." Korra replied with a half-smile and continued to comb through the tangles in her chestnut locks mostly in contemplative silence.

"Good." He nodded and set the book aside to watch her. "What's eating at you, Korra?"

"Why would anything be eating at me, Noatak?"

"I know you well, Korra. You are acting quiet and looking deeply distracted, that is not normal."

"It's nothing." Korra waved the matter away as she began to tie her hair.

"Is it about the winter gala?" Noatak watched her grimace and roll he eyes.

"How do you always know everything?"

"Who do you think sorts the mail around here?" He grinned slightly.

"Yeah, well, that stupid high-hatting party can count me out." Korra continued to expertly put on the hair ties that Noatak found so very endearing.

"Are you sure you can afford not to go?" He asked smoothly.

"You tell me. You're the political tactician around here so can I afford not to show up?" She finally finished with her hair and plopped herself up on the bed.

"You can but you'll have to make up for it somehow."

"Whatever." Korra stretched lazily and looked at her husband again. "If only people weren't so bitter about you I would have loved to go and have fun."

"I know, my love." Noatak sat closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "But we always knew that our relationship was never going to be seen in good terms."

"Yeah…" The Avatar sighed, placing her hand over his but still looking annoyed and slightly depressed.

"Do you regret it?" He murmured, he wasn't worried that she'd say yes but he knew the question would rile her up.

"Fuck, no!" Korra snapped out immediately and turned to him. "I wouldn't trade you and the kids for any damn thing in this world."

"I feel the same way." Noatak planted a kiss on her cheek and smiled in a way that only Korra was allowed to see. "And you still have all your friends on our side too, so why let everyone else's opinion bother us?"

"…You're right." Korra sighed in resignation and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Of course I am." He chuckled pulling her closer.

"Don't get used to it, buddy." She poked his nose with that usual playful defiance that he found so adorable, even if that confrontational side of her had once infuriated him many years before.

"Did you really want to go to that gala?" Noatak's scarred hand traced her cheek softly.

"N-no…" Korra hesitated and that made him smile. "No, I hate those social events. I just… I want to have fun with you and not have to care about what the world thinks."

"Well, we can do that right here." Noatak stood swiftly and opened the window, revealing the snow that fell onto Republic City, he then moved with graceful elegance to bend said snow until the room was framed in white and pretty dangling ice crystals hung beautifully around them. He then shut the window and walked to the desk by the wall where he turned on and tuned the radio to a music station before moving to the confused Korra again and extending his hand cordially to her. "We can have our own little winter gala. Dance with me."

"You never cease to amaze me." Korra smiled still a little surprised and placed her hand in his, letting Noatak pull her into an embrace as a song began to hum in the air from the radio.

"It shouldn't amaze you that I'd do anything to see you smile." He whispered in her ear and they moved through the room with bender elegance and twirled slowly to the beautiful melancholic song.

"I love you, Noatak." Korra smiled her beautiful smug grin at last and wrapped her arms around his neck as their bodies molded together and swayed with the music in talented whirls.

"I love you too, Korra. More than you'll ever know." Noatak held her by the waist, guiding her in their dance as he planted kisses up her neck.

In a few minutes he realized they were being watched by four curious little sets of eyes in different hues of blue peeking from outside the room and before long he was beckoning them inside to dance with mommy and daddy until the ice laden room became a miniature family gala, allowing Korra to see all that she had and loved, all that made her smile in those cold winter days.

~~~~~~.:oOo:.~~~~~~

_(Author's Note: If you want to know (or listen to) what song I used for inspiration for this scene, it was "Once Upon a December"._

_And so I end Amorra Week on fluffy note. Got to get back to my other fics until Korrasami or Lieumon Week pops up to steal another seven (or more) days of my time._

_As usual, feedback is appreciated. Thanks.)_


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